Confident Fear
by roxyyRAWRR
Summary: Allen is studying to be photographer. Kanda is an artist. Tyki is a model. Lavi is a writer. Lenalee is editor-in-chief of a magazine. AU Yaoi/shounen-ai Chx5 "Would you ever sleep with someone for a job?”
1. Je ne suis pas un pingouin

**Haii thar little fangurl~**

**I started a new story and deleted Lilac Senses, Touch because I wasn't satisfied with it... this one's better trust me.**

**FanFiction 3**

**Because there's nothing I like more than fucking up my favorite characters lives 8D**

**Disclaimer: Hoshino Katsura**

**P.S. Written in my own way, so it's supposed to be confusing but yet understandable for us teens ^_^ ...hopefully.**

* * *

When was it that he had fallen for him?

July? August? Monday? Thursday? 9 o'clock?

When, just _when _had his mind decided that the long-haired Asian man was the one, single person he wanted to see every day. Had to see. Must see.

Allen held his solid camera in his hand, the light relfecting off of the shiny lens as he brought the object up to his eyes, shutting one of them whilst he looked through the camera with the other. His view traveled from where has sat atop on the roof, first skimming through a few trees with rustling leaves, passing by an old woman purchasing a bag of nectarines before finally landing upon his destination; the long-haired mystery man.

His name was unknown to Allen's lips, and the best he could do was to come up with a name.

'?'

Allen snapped another shot of the man, watching his every move as he rummaged through his pants pockets, looking for his keys.

That's what was so mesmerizing about the man. He was too geniuine, too smothering to get labelled with a name worthy of him. Anything Allen would come up would be considered dirt and he'd mentally hate himself for giving his gorgeous love such a horrible name.

He had decided one day to go to the public library and look up boys names to dub his mystery man with; the procedure was very amusing to say the least. First he tried thinking of dark names, because that was the colour of his hair, but unfortunely his plan failed miserably when he came up with such names as 'Thrasher' and 'Edward Cullen'. Goddamn Twilight.

He had considered a Greek name like Elias, but it didn't quite fit his expectations, and neither did Tobias or Sven which obviously were Swedish names. Although at first Tobias seemed okay until he realized. He tried searching for a Japanese name because he was certain the man was Asian because that's what his soft features portrayed. The best he came up with was 'Hiroshi' and 'bishounen' which apparently meant 'handsome youth', and yes, the man was. Marc passed his lips once but it was too French for his liking; and once he uttered 'Marc' he immediately took a liking to the French language and flipped through the pages of a 'French to English Dictionary', creating his own sentences from bits and words.

_**Je ne suis pas un pingouin. **_– I am not a penguin.

_**J'ai été stupéfié par la taille de cette autruche. **_– I was amazed by the size of that ostrich.

_**Vous comme un ananas ? **_– Would you like a pineapple?

_**Le suédois vient! Ils ont des baies lingon! **_– The Swedish are coming! They've got lingon berries!

That last one was from an episode of 'The Simpsons', the line had burnt itself into Allen's mind at remained there, unwilling to vanish.

'?'

What would he call him then?

Finally finding his keys he brought one single key up to the keyhole and inserted the metal object into the hole, turning it at an angle before pushing down on the handle and taking his first steps through the entrance and into a world far out of Allen's reach.

Each movement he made Allen was sure to catch on his beloved camera. Not one moment would pass where he missed one of the man's actions and wondered how beautiful it looked.

That was another thing about him. Everything he did was alluring. Every breathe he took was mind-blowing. Everytime his eyes opened up Allen was stuck desperatley trying to remember how to breathe. It must be unhealthy for a teenager to feel so wrapped up in love, but he couldn't help his feelings for the unknown man. He'd been watching for... how long?

That long.

So long he can't even remember when he started, when he fell in love and when his heart would flutter when the man would by accident let his eyes wander to the roof where Allen was sitting with his little camera, snapping shots of the street life beneath him.

He was dying. He wanted to badly. So horribly. He wanted to speak with him, but his guts would never agree, they would always say it was a bad decision. It was the wrong decision.

But he'd been watching now. He'd been taking pictures now. What else could he do now?

He brought his camera once more and balanced it on his knees as he used his left hand to adjust his striped scarf around his neck, tugging on it so it wrapped around his chin as well. His mouth parted slightly open and white air could be seen floating out of his moist cavern. His crimson hand, his left hand, the one hand that had been infected and was now and eyesore to every passing person. A look of disgust crossing their faces whenever they took in the disoriented shape of his left hand, the one attached to his arm, to him.

His silver orbs were calm, soothing in a sort of hypnotic manner. His face naturally pale, not due to the cold that surrounded him but because that's the way he was. And something else he was was the red scar that slashed down his left eye, a mark of unforgiveness given to him by his late father. His shockingly white hair, different from other teenagers his age, loosening up and letting a few strands dance with the wind as the air became chilly.

When was it exactly, that he had fallen in _love_?

September? November? Tuesday? Sunday? 12 o'clock?

Was it the day that Cross had given him a bag of sunflower seeds and told him to grow beans because sunflower seeds stuck in between his teeth?

Maybe it was the day Allen noticed his laundry was full and went down to the Laundromat only to find that the dryer was occupied by rats having sex?

Hopefully not.

Perhaps it was the day he went to a local internet café to edit a few of his photos and got pissed at the inanimate object in front of him and gave the worst possible insult of;

"You know what computer? Your mother was a can-opener!"

Or was it the day that he had gotten more than 30 comments on one of his photos on deviantart?

Allen loved the computer. It was his one love of his life excluding his camera that he actually would spend his time on. Mainly because he uploaded his photos on the computer, edited his photos on the computer and posted his photos on deviantart on the computer. He enjoyed deviantart and considered it a world of bliss with souls full of talent posting their art, poetry and pictures. The comments he loved the most were the ones who encouraged him to take more pictures and gave him tips and examples of what he could practice on; a few people even requested certain photos which made him feel warm and loved inside. However, there were the usual people who probably were jealous of his talent or something, those people who commented their dislike of the photo and asking futile questions like 'why are you still doing this shit?' Isn't it pretty obvious you suck?'

He hated those comments.

_**Baisez-vous. Baisez-vous très, très beaucoup.**_ – Fuck you. Fuck you very, very much.

A Lily Allen song.

Hail Britannia.

He had so many memorable moments but only a few selected ones could occupy the emptiness in his brain, completely forgetting about his minor memories which were reminded to him by some other person who had bothered to keep the memory intact.

He let his mind trail, creating its own path in the back of his head as he jumped off his seat on the roof, heading directly towards the door. He grabbed his light blue shoulder bag in the process; the one with pink spotted bows on each side where the straps were connected, and there were several badges of quotes, remarks and a few bands that he supported and took a liking to.

His music taste was completely random, not one of his songs would match with the other and honestly, people considered Allen to be a bit… 'blah'. He didn't care that he was 'blah'. He enjoyed being 'blah'. Because in his dictionary, being 'blah' was being non-existent, and he loved being labelled as non-existent. Although, the truth be told he hated labelling and labels, he hated people being labelled as 'emo', 'prep' and 'nerd'; it all made him realize what a fucked up world they live in that actually think it would be better to categorize its inhabitants than have them live freely.

Music.

Random.

The Temptations, Sugarpie, Honeybunch.

Lily Allen – It's Not Fair

Jet... Are you Gonna Be My Girl?

Carolina Liar; I'm Not Over

Mando Heels

Herman's Hermits ~ No Milk Today

Alexander Rybak::Fairytale

.Touch.

It was all muddled up and unfocused, so bizarre and yet enticing in Allen's twisted sort of way. The only connection he saw between his songs was that, in his opinion, they were all… happy. Up-beat. Glad. Singing about something worthless, useless, shitty… and then sounding impressively joyous.

Snap out of thought.

_**s'il vous plait.**_

**Por favor.**

Spanish wasn't that bad either.

He would have to come back to the mysterious man once more another time. Some other time when he wasn't busy.

Right now Tyki was waiting.

* * *

**So what you all think? Hmmmm??**

**Just so you know it will involve a lot of imaginative, creative, artistic things~ Like art, music, writing, photogrpahs and modeling 8D (because i'm cool like that ;D)**

**Just a warning, because I love this story so much I might ignore my others, so please remind me. 3 FankYEW!**

**R&R please!**


	2. And You Paint

**Chapter 2~ I lobe this story! xD It's so epically full of random!**

**Disclaimer: Not moí but the story idea is mine yussh**

**EnJOY.**

* * *

Ever had one of those son-of-a-bitch days where everywhere you go hell follows? One of those days where nothing goes right and you always, fucking _always _end up hating life and everything it brings?

One of these shitty days is a normal day in my life.

Of course it goes step by step, everything in this fucking world goes step by step, order by order, laws, laws, _fucking _laws.

If you have any similarity to this it will start with you going into your favourite Starbuck's which is at the corner just 2 blocks down from your apartment, casually walking in with your usual annoyed look to keep people at a distance and pacing towards the counter. There you order a cup of Frappuccino and suddenly be told by the pimple-faced cashier with his greasy hair that they're out.

…

Of coffee.

…

At _Starbucks._

What the hell kind of bullshit is that?! Obviously the only sane thing to do would to threaten the cashier for 15 straight minutes while strangers idly stood by and watched the scene. Then the teen breaks down and sobs getting his Starbucks shirt all soaked and you waltz out of there with the intent to murder anyone who even tries to talk to you. Exciting the building you ignore the looks people give you from outside because somehow, just fucking _somehow _they know it was you who caused all the commotion inside.

You walk down the street with your hands in your jacket pockets and a murderous aura surrounding you, and these girls, these fucking teenage girls have the nerve to wink at you, smile at you, and even fucking _blow you kisses._ Like any normal human being you'd flip them off and go on with the day, strolling down the street, only a few minutes away from your art studio. And at this moment, right when you're between H&M's and a GinaTricot store you hear a melodic tune coming from your jeans pocket, you whip out your phone and narrow your eyes as you realize that on the screen the called ID says; 'Lavi'. Him being irrelevant to your intentions at the moment you turn your phone on silent but have it remaining on vibrate in case you get any important business calls.

Finally you arrive at the art studio and take your time to find your keys and select the correct key that goes into the hole on the door. You hear someone call your name and turn around and notice the chef of the Indian Restaurant you visit sometimes, Jerry, is waving at you with a big smile plastered on his face. You simply nod at the so-called 'friend' and return to your mission of finding the right key to the keyhole.

Oddly enough Jerry is the only person who he can barely stand, one that actually respects his privacy unlike some other red-headed character… Jerry is also the only, and I say _only_ gay I will ever accept. He shows no signs of hitting on me whatsoever and to be honest, that eases my mind a bit and therefore I am capable of relaxing when in his company. But over all, homosexuals are the fucking shit of this earth, those who are so fucking lonely they'd actually resort to fucking their own gender. Disgusting. Bisexuals vary, they go both ways, but still, I categorize them under 'pathetic'.

Onwards.

You finally discover which key is the right one and insert it into the keyhole, twisting it around until you hear a 'click' noise that informs you that the door is now unlocked. Before entering you take a last glance at the outside world for some inspiration; an old nana buying ripe nectarines, a mother and her child bickering over an item the child wants but the mother refuses to buy, and an old guy sitting on the rooftops taking pictures of the street life.

…

Pedophile.

You finally press down on the handle and enter the door, flip on the light switch and shut the door behind you. You shrug off your coat and hang it on a hook which is nailed onto the wall next to your door, and at the same time you remove a piece of giant cloth which happens to be a shirt stained with paint and pull it over your head. Straightening out the shirt you make sure your pony-tail is neatly tied behind and no strands of hair are hanging loose; it's a pain in the ass to get paint out of your hair. Sitting down on a paint-covered stool with a painting stand situated in front of you with a blank frame you look around your studio and absorb the whimsical appearance.

And you paint.

* * *

Allen rushed down the street with his shoulder bag slamming against his side every time he took a large step, swinging back and forth whenever he made a turn and smacking him in the back when he halted right in front of a dark-skinned man.

Looking up at the figure Allen smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassing manner; he really had tried to make it on time but he had gotten caught up in looking at the mystery man's door for 15 minutes for no apparent reason. The man who stood silently in front of him was holding a half-smoked cigarette between his nimble fingers, his face holding a contagious smirk which illuminated his golden eyes. His dark unruly hair latched onto his neck with a few locks flipped outwards.

"What's the reason this time, hm?" He took a puff of his cigarette. The motion seemed to attract a lot of attention from nearby females who were casually walking in the park with their mates, or mothers with their children who still eyed the tall man.

"Let me guess! Mystery man went out to throw the garbage and you simply had to get a shot of his gorgeous appearance!"

Mocking.

"Maybe he couldn't get his key into the keyhole and stood an extra minute outside of his door and you got caught up in the moment?"

Embarrassing.

"Or perhaps you finally told him you've been watching him for ages and he called the cops on you causing to weave through the city so you would lose them?"

The second one was the most accurate.

"Well, no… I just got a little caught up staring into space you know…" and he made sure the 'which was his door' was almost inaudible to Tyki's ears. The older male took another drag of his cigarette which was almost out, barely a few centimetres left.

"Seriously, your name shouldn't be Allen Walker, it should be Allen Stalker." This earned himself a mighty offensive pout from the platinum-haired boy. Finally taking his last drag and eliciting the excess smoke from his mouth, Tyki dropped the cigarette to the pavement and crushed it with his heel. Scraping the remainder of the cigarette on the ground he turned to Allen.

"So what have you got planned this time?" Allen's eyes were full of excitement at this, and Tyki certainly knew he was doomed. Allen may be an excellent photographer, but his ideas are very… unique.

This one time he had Tyki dress up in a green mechanic's overall during summer, and then he took Tyki to a wide plain with flowers and centred him in the middle of the blooming plants and handed him a green gas mask. Apparently his idea was to say that 'Flowers Are Intoxicating'; as in a good way but to portray it in a more artistic form.

Another time Allen painted Tyki's entire body— entire upper body! UPPER BODY!

…Phew.

…

Get past that moment now…

As I was saying; Allen had painted Tyki's entire _upper _body with black ink in the form of music notes, and because Allen could play the piano he wrote the music notes to 'Chariot' by Gavin DeGraw. Tyki wasn't that fond of it but a majority of the people who had heard it or even just listened to a part of it seemed to enjoy the song. Anyway, after his body was painted Allen had Tyki stand against a wall and have the older male wrap his arms around himself and look far into the distance as if his insides were torn apart or he was wishing for someone special. It was titled 'Music Is a Virtue'.

Although, Tyki liked this one picture that Allen had taken. I guess you can say they were lucky that time because let me tell you, it's not easy to find a rose with light snowflakes on it giving it an icy exterior and a mesmerizing appearance. One November night they were heading home after unsuccessfully finding a good shot and place (this is when they decided that they should plan their idea first before aimlessly wandering around) and they had passed through the park and were in the plants section. There Allen noticed a absolutely stunning rose with gentle snowflakes strewn upon the soft petals as if they were soft kisses; and it was there that Allen demanded that Tyki hold the rose lovingly in his hands and breathe so the icy air could create a mist around the flower from Tyki's breathe.

One word.

Gorgeous.

And now it looked like Allen had a very creative plan. (He could tell because Allen's mind wasn't on the mystery man anymore…hopefully.)

The white-haired boy opened the flap on his shoulder bag and pulled out his solid camera, casually sweeping off some imaginary dust.

"I thought… that today… we bury you in books."

…

…

…

**Qué?**

"…Pardon?"

"It'll be great photo Tyki I swear! Imagine! Being surrounded by knowledge and indulging you in all the words and stories!"

"But I hate books…"

"I know. But I'm the one with the camera so you'll do as I say." He flashed one of his famous innocent smiles; everyone bought it but Tyki could see beneath it. He was pure evil.

"You know for a guy whose only 15 you have a strange amount of power."

"The world works in mysterious ways. Now shall we?" Allen held out his hand as if indicating that they should travel downtown…

towards the library.

* * *

About A Boy…

Everything Is Illuminated…

Kite Runner…

Peeps…

Uglies…

Beijing Doll…

All these books. It's amazing how someone actually took the time to just sit down and write whatever came to their mind. Who would've ever thought that they would publish it? And win an award or two? I bet the author didn't think so until it all happened. Damn, they make it look so easy; why can't I do it?

Lavi was running his finger over the titles on the bookshelf, every feel of a different cover sending a chill down his spine. He loved being in the library. He loved all the imagination. He loved all the dilemmas, the drama, the comedy, the romance, everything. The silent room filled with people who were buried deep into their books and quietly enjoying the time they had to spend on reading something that isn't them.

That's the other thing Lavi really loved. When you have a book, you can take a pause. You can read about someone else's life and compare it to your own; because only then do you realize how lucky or unlucky you are. How you can think in different ways and how you can handle various situations. It amazed him how one problem can have over a million answers.

"Excuse me, but may I have a thick book?" Lavi turned his head down, or, just a bit down, looking down upon a short white-haired little boy. He had an odd scar over his left eye and his orbs were stunning; a light silver colour. His hair was what made Lavi take a step back, see; it was pure white, like virgin white but not completely. You know?

"A… thick book?" The young boy nodded. "Is there a… particular book you're looking for?" The boy shook his head. He seemed to talk just fine a few seconds ago, what happened?

"Then uhm… this." Lavi brought out a copy of Harry Potter, the first book and handed it to the boy who bowed and quickly uttered a faint 'thank you'. He had no idea why he had a camera in his hand but he wasn't going to ask why.

…

Fine, I lied.

"What's up with the camera?" The boy looked up from the book he was holding with a wondrous expression on his face. But merely a few seconds passed before his face lit up with an immensely blinding smile.

**D'aww… how adorable.**

"I'm a photographer, and I was going to use a few books in my next project. It's called 'Words Words Words End.' And I'm hoping to get a lot of good shots. I was actually going to use famous books at first so people might recognize them, but then I realized I was going to have the pages flipped open so it didn't matter because the people can't read those tiny words. So then I decided to use thin books but that would just look boring because it wouldn't exactly give you that library feel and I want the library feel in the photo; so instead I'm just taking random books and opening up the pages to anything and anywhere and just placing them on stacks to—"

"Allen, come on…! What the hell's taking you so long?" There came a tense whisper from behind one of the shelves and approaching steps. Actually I didn't mind the guy interrupting because even though this boy was very passionate about what he did, he kinda… needed to… shut up. You know? Entering from behind the bookshelf we were standing by comes a… a… uh… how should I put this…

**Hunk.**

_Stud._

Yum.

_**Freakin' sex on legs!**_

So, you know?

Completely dazzled by the man's stunning look Lavi is unaware of the conversation going on between the white-haired boy and 'Smexy-hot-as-hell' (he didn't have an official name, but you get the point).

"_Please just don't play with me, my paper heart will bleed—"_

Lavi's thoughts were interrupted by his pocket vibrating and the very loveable tune of 'Paper Heart' boomed through his pants pockets.

Was it possible for pants to talk?

If they could Lavi's would probably want to be washed properly or ask Lavi to pull them up so they weren't loosely hanging below his hip. This is where Lavi would reply with an explanation stating that it's the new fashion and that's the only reason he bought the pants so they should just shut up and obey their master.

…

Pants have no power.

_RETURNING._

He whipped out his phone and instinctively pressed the green button which allowed him to answer the call; he held it up to his ear and waited for a voice.

"**Lavi-kun! I-I… Augh! I seriously need help, please!"**

Grinning he leaned against the bookshelf and forgot about the two people beside him in the midst of their argument; right now he was trying to get into a comfortable standing position.

"Yo, Lena-chan! Whats up, madame?"

"**What— what do you want? No, I said burgundy! Who wants cobalt with black?! The theme is ****'love', where the hell does cobalt come in…?!"**

Mm.

Lenalee had issues. Especially when it came to her job; she was currently a editor-in-chief at the well-known magazine '-Man' which was famous for all their valuable articles, amazing pictures and their 'reviewer's page', but most importantly they were so well-sold because of their fashionable outfits. From dresses to boots, from tank tops to hats; male or female, they had anything you needed and it was arranged so it was… perfect.

At the moment Lenalee was probably chewing at some innocent guy who… from the sounds of her voice… reported, or perhaps did something wrong… poor guy.

"**Ah, sorry Lavi. Just a bit of trouble there." **He could practically feel the reassuring smile in her voice.

"No worries, no worries dear. So, what can I do for you?"

"**It's terrible! Terrible, Lavi! Jean-Paul refuses to do the photo-shoot on 'Walking On Air', you know that was supposed to be our latest thing to grasp the readers attention? He says he won't do it because the budget is too slim! What does he mean ****slim; he has the biggest budget in the entire company! We can't increase the amount of money just because he wants to! What the hell should I do, Lavi?! Oi, you! Come here! Why the hell do you have Wanda's dress?! This is supposed to be with Marc, take it to him! Run little boy, run! Ah, what? Sorry. So Lavi, pleaaaase! I'm begging you! Talk to him or something, you've always been good with words haven't you?"**

"_Finding a book doesn't take so long. Why didn't you just grab a random thick one, it doesn't have to be well-known!"_

"_I didn't know it was well-known! I just happened to converse with another per—"_

"…Is Jean-Paul that bitch guy with the goatee and fake French-accent?"

"**Yeah."**

"Yeah, you need a new guy."

"…**WHAT?"**

"_I said you can be such a bitch sometimes."_

"_Well surprised much? I spend more than half of my time with you, where do you think I picked up the behaviour Ty—"_

"You need a new guy, trust me. He may be good at what he does, but it's still considered average in this world."

"**Lavi, what the hell? We only have 4 days to shoot and you want us to recruit a new photographer? Your lame-ass ideas suck!"**

She's just stressed… Relax. Calm… She's just stressed. Remember, this is a girl, she can rip your genitals out and have the as a trophy, because that's what girls do. They have the power, don't piss them off.

"_We don't need any more books! Just take the one you have and let's go!"_

"_Relax, it's not like we have anywhere to go! Just take your time, stuff like this needs to be handled delicately an—"_

"Listen, Lena-chan…" Lavi rubbed his temples in a soothing manner. "I don't say you have to, but have you thought of perhaps sending out a competition in your magazine? I mean that way you could recruit a new, very talented photographer and a loyal fan of the magazine a well. It would solve your issues because you know us common folk would adore to work at a high place like '-Man'."

"…**That's not a bad idea. But Lavi, we still need pictures! And we don't have pictures!"**

"Yeah, I sorta figured that out in the last 5 minutes."

Sarcasm.

HA!

"_I swear a goldfish is smarter than you."_

"**Wiseass."**

"_For the love of God Tyki, __let's just go! The librarian will probably kick us out anyway for making so much noise, now I gotta think of a new idea for the pho—"_

**[ I N S E R T L I G H T B U L B ]**

"Lena-chan?"

"**Mhm?"**

"Say hello to my little friend."

Lavi tapped the white-haired boy on the shoulder, whereas he turned around with an irritated expression on his face which quickly turned to one of shock when Lavi shoved his cell phone into the boy's hands.

"For you."

"E-Eh?"

"Job offer."

"O-oh?"

"…This is where you'd use that 'hello' word you hear so often."

"R-right…! Thank you!" And so the white-haired boy tuned Lavi out and continued blabbering with Lenalee about something. A few words and sentences that were heard were;

_walking on air,_

_rainbow illusion__,_

_skittles-flavoured pocky, _(o-kaaaay…)

_payment and dental,_

_Tyki Mikk._

Wasn't Tiki a ferocious war God in Hawaii though? I believe he read it somewhere… somewhere stupid yet intellectual… Oh right.

**www (.) urbandictionary (.) com**

Woaw, was now a good time to realize that the really hot guy from before was staring at you? Like staring-staring, not just casually staring but actually staring at you like their eyes were burning and maybe… perhaps… they were interested?

Now would be a good time to insert a hot make-out session, right?

… Just nod!

But of course my mind doesn't control everything that goes on and happens in this world. Trust me, if it did the world would be very, _very _different.

Let's just say it's somewhere on the lines of that the world would have tons of literate human-beings who write fanfiction, vegetarian could still count if you ate only vegetables with the exception of one type of meat (ex; veggies and only eating chicken) and Yuu-chan would give me a hug every, single, day.

Fucked up, I know.

The white-haired boy shut the phone and turned around and handing back Lavi's phone; a soft smile hanging on his lips. He looked so adorable right now, the right amount of cute and innocent mixed with a bit of maturity an—

"Don't fall for it." Lavi looked up to see the male's eyes narrowing at the white-haired boy who recently had started to pout.

_**D'aww…**_

"Hm?" Tilting his head a bit to the side Lavi's confused face was priceless.

"His smile. Never. Ever. Fall for that hellish smile." His words were dripping with toxic warnings. Wow, seeing his outside form you'd never expect him to be so venomous on the inside. Like a book. It's like the cover is wonderful but the inside holds the dirty truth.

He loved it.

And from the very attractive male's advice it seemed this young standing in front of him was another book. Yet another cover.

After a while he thought it would fit to reply to the comment, "I believe you." Which earned him a well-respected nod and glorious smile.

It's got to be illegal to look _that _good!

"So since you two love-birds here are obviously occupied with each other's advice and trust on not having faith in me, I think I'll go set up all the books for the shoo—"

"Hey, woaw, you're English!" Lavi sounded astonished, and honestly, he was. How had he not noticed that this kid had a British accent? A very fun one too! I mean come, he had been ranting about photography previously so why did his ears never tune in on the accent?

"Uhh… yeah."

"No shit! Where ya from?"

"Loughborough."

"…"

"…"

"…That's not even a word."

"That's what I said!" At this point the older male had decided to chime in.

"It is too a word! It's a town! Tyki, you know it exists! I showed you on the map!" And here the older make, who is Tyki which I remembered now, crossed his arms and huffed.

"I saw nothing. I saw a dot and London."

"So what if it wasn't an accurate map, it's in there!" He pointed a finger accusingly at the other male with a stern look on his face. Sighing Tyki put a few fingers on his forehead and sighed.

"You know you can't win, still you keep pushing it and pushing it…!" His voice was a hissing whisper, and in the background you could notice the librarian approaching with an annoyed glare shooting out way.

"That's what she said."

"…"

"…"

_Oh My God, why do I always ruin these moments?_

* * *

**Oh My God, why is Lavi so fucking awesome? 8D That's what she said is my favourite line of all time in all of the worlds history xDD**

**So yeah, this is just normal writing.. and I never say when I change P.O.V., you'll just have to notice it by yourselves. …Sorry.**

**This isn't as… interesting as the first chapter but I tried; mainly because I'm trying to get into the people's bodies and see things through their eyes, so Allen is really special and fun :3**

**And Kanda's an ass. But we love him. xD**

**BTW, did you guys notice how less pissed Kanda got as he approached his art studio? The anger just kinda evaporated!**


	3. Thank You, Captain Obvious!

**OXYMORON.**

--

I'll never understand their humour.

We were in the library looking for books for the photograph, and a red-headed guy handed me a phone and before I knew it I had a job at '-Man', the world famous magazine that is well-known for their multiple articles and relation to the common life.

Somehow I ended up arguing with Tyki but that happens all the time, and yes, it always ends up with him winning the argument. I've never been one who was passionate about bickering, it's just not important to me whether I win with words or not; I'm a photographer, I'm affected by what I see.

So when Tyki said that last line thing and I knew I had lost because he had stated the obvious, the red-headed guy said something completely random about his friend or something, a female friend I don't know… and there was an awkward silence.

Before Tyki burst out laughing.

It amazed me how that guy was able to make Tyki laugh at the first sentence, and I think they really hit it off because they kept on spouting nonsense whilst I was just standing around. I think it's something I should know when I'm older, but still, I was curious. I couldn't exactly do anything because it looked like we weren't going to do the photo shoot today and Tyki and the red-headed guy who introduced himself (to Tyki, not me, I was invisible) as Lavi were having a grand time conversing with each other. The librarian actually had to come up to them and shush them before adding a little warning at the end so they knew she was serious; this resulted in the three of us exiting and me excusing myself to go prepare for tomorrow when I would start my first day at work.

Tyki said something about 'it' (whatever that is) usually is as long as the distance from your thumb to your index finger, and Lavi replied with a question regarding which thumb he should choose.

I don't know what happened after that because we went separate ways, but knowing Tyki I'm sure he asked the young gentleman out for coffee and they were still talking about 'it'.

I'll never understand their humour.

--

It was 3 weeks since he had last painted anything. Lately it seemed nothing came to mind, nothing that got his imagination going, nothing that made him feel passionate about anything! Not even when he visited his adoptive father despite knowing that he would be there along with his two adoptive brothers. He went to his old room which had been kept the way it was since he moved out and opened his wardrobe. In the wardrobe there was a wooden box on the bottom with a tiny oval mirror on top, and delicate ceramic lilies decorated around the sides.

It was a music box.

He had inherited it from his mother when he was 8, the age he was when she passed away. There was nothing in the world he treasured more than that single music box which he now held in his hands. The melody was simple and well-known, but it was a melody that would make you weep if you knew the things he'd been through.

Gently he opened the top of the music box and let the notes float.

_You are my sunshine,_

_My only sunshine,_

_You make me happy,_

_When skies are grey,_

_You'll never know dear,_

_How much I love you,_

_So please don't take, my sunshine away_

Not even those simple words inspired him anymore.

--

The day had come.

Oh gosh.

It had come.

Oh my.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it was. Okay, see, he'd never had a _real _job before, and this one was a job as a professional photographer at '-Man'. Did I mention it's huge, world famous and everything within the building is glamour, elegance and creativity!?

He only has the creativity part, there's no way he'd be able to enter the building wearing an Armani suit which was specially tailored for his small, scrawny-looking body! The only thing he had that didn't need to get sent to the Laundromat was a pair sky blue jeans with the knees scraped which made him look like a hobo, and a too-big-for-self black T-shirt which had '&&' printed in large yellow letters across the front. He wore simple sneakers, purple ones to be more exact, and he had drawn a sort of lightning bolt on the sides to show his mark of power.

Just, don't even ask, I got it from 'Bolt'.

What? You think I watch too much TV?

Well whatever, I know what happened in the latest episode of 'Ugly Betty' and you don't!

FYI, I was also devastated when I found out that Connor had left Wilhelmina with 'Mode's money.

Allen had entered the building and ignored everything glamorous and bling-blingy around him, his main intention was to acquire a seat in the elevator before those two doors shut. He quickly paced across the room with his eyes set on the elevator and ran in at the last second and barely made it through the gap of the closing doors; only to have crashed into someone on the other side which he hadn't noticed until, you know… he crashed into them.

Confused and having a splitting head ache which seemed to last only a few seconds, Allen was about to pull himself up when he heard someone muttering something above him. He looked up and caught sight of Mystery Man, cursing.

"Fucking kid, what the fuck do you think you're doing running in like that? Just press the goddamn button next time. Dumbass."

--

"_Neh~ Come on Yuu-chan! You know you need a job pretty soon!"_

"_I don't fucking need anything. And don't call me that, I'll fucking slice your head off next time."_

"_Ohh, don't worry! I know yer just actin' all macho and stuff! But I'll always be here to help ya! Now, what jobs are there where you can hire a painter? Paintin' walls? Paintin' paintings? Paintball?"_

"_Your humour sucks."_

"_Yeah, probably! But most people find it funny! By the way, yer not 'most people'"_

"_Thank you, Captain Obvious."_

"_Yuu, seriously though. Try to find a decent job, or at least one that pays well to hold ya up for a while. I know ya don't want to go live with Tiedoll again, you keep complain' 'bout him but still you've taken up his line of job! And Daisya and Marie will be there too so just don't bother, do somethin' and find a job. If worst comes to worst, I'll lend you money."_

"_Hell no. I'll be fine, don't even think about pitying me or giving me charity. I'm perfectly capable of living on my own. My imagination has just stopped for a while, it'll come back soon."_

"_Mhm, but meanwhile. Here. It's Lenalee's card ya'know, they're lookin' for creativity from their readers. Just send in somethin' or go apply for a job, who knows. Perhaps ya will get a tiny job, like the light guy or somethin', but considerin' this is '-Man', bein' the light guy will pay you a good sum of money. 'Kay?"_

"…"

"…"

"… _Don't expect another thank you."_

--

Allen hauled himself up using the metal bar that was attached to the side of the elevator, purposely he guessed in case someone fell (liken now) or just wanted to lean against whilst waiting in the elevator. He brushed off some dust that had attached itself to his very cool '&&' shirt. He then held out his hand for the other teen and started sputtering apologizes, completely unaware of the older male glaring furiously at him.

Finally Kanda had to stop him.

"Shut the fuck up, would you. God, how can you talk so much?" Allen was taken by surprise at the sudden comment, but he figured a reply would be the most common thing to do here.

"Ah, well, I thin—"

"It was a rhetorical question." Kanda straightened himself up and kicked his leg loosely into the air, making sure he hadn't broken anything because he was sure he heard a crack somewhere when the Moyashi kid had crashed into his gut.

"O-oh…" Rhetorical? What the hell was that? "Sorry, but it sounded like a question to me."

"Well it wasn't."

"Sheesh, what's got you so fired up?" He didn't mean to sound so… so… mean. But the Mystery Man had just kind of pushed a button that alerted Allen that this was a bitch.

"Sheesh? What are you, 12?" Kanda let out an annoyed snort. It's unbelievable how some people still haven't gotten past the 'childhood curses'. Seriously, who the fuck says 'sheesh' anymore?

"I'm 15." Allen's words were coated with venom; why was it so hard for this guy to be decent?

"Whatever Moyashi, you sure as hell don't look like it. You look more like 'old geezer's and '12-year old boy's fusion kid."

Seriously.

He looked like it.

"I am not a fusion kid! And I'm not an older geezer! Nor am I 12! And what's a 'Moyashi'?"

"My native language. Now shut up."

"Hey, don't tell me to shut up! You're being such a twat!"

Twat?

"Oh no, really? I'm so sorry for hurting your feelings random me, is there anyway I can repay you? Buy you a toy? Perhaps a Barbie? Give you fucking head if you're such a fag."

"What's 'give head'? And why am I a cigarette?"

Kanda just stared at the kid with a look of utter amusement mixed with confusion on his face. Okay. He knew the kid was dumb for sure, since the moment he saw his face he knew this kid was about as intelligent as an acorn. But this was something new; this was something that would bring him great pleasure in the future. So the Moyashi had mistaken 'fag' for 'cigarette', that was what it meant in England so there there's no issues with it being confusing. But for a teenage boy to not know such a simple sexual term as 'give head.'

…Priceless.

This. Is. Awesome.

"You don't know what 'give head' is?"

"No… what is it? What does it mean? Do you mean you're going to decapitate me…?"

"…Oh this is beautiful." Kanda dropped his head and looked down at his shoes before looking up again with his trademark smirk plastered across his face.

"You work here?"

"No…Well actually, yes. Yes I work here." Kanda nodded approvingly.

"Then just ask your boss what 'give head' means."

The elevator doors slid open and Kanda exited the room.

"Trust me."

--

Give head!

Give heaaaad!

God, do you know what 'give head' means?!

Well of course you do, you were laughing at me the entire time right?

You're nodding, aren't you?

Leave me an ounce of respect would you?

Ugh, I never knew something like that was slang for… you know.

I shouldn't know these kinds of things now, I go to church every Sunday, I would feel really guilty sitting there alone and realizing somewhere in the middle of the Priest's speech that 'give head' means to… suck. God would definitely punish me for knowing such rude terms. He'd smite me! But of course… liking another male is also a sin in Christianity… You know what, never mind. I just don't think such perverted knowledge should exist in my mind; it's just too tainted and dirty for me! I'm pure like snow, all virgin white, even my hair agrees with me!

And it was so awkward having Lenalee explain it to me! She's a female, a pure girl and even she knew what 'give head' was! I felt like I couldn't live with myself unless I severely apologized to her for explaining the term for me.

Thing went better on from there.

The Chinese woman with the pig-tails introduced herself to me as Lenalee Lee, editor-in-chief of '-Man' and stated that my job would be the new professional photographer like we had discussed over the phone. She then gave me a guided tour of the building (which is HUGE by the way) and carefully explained the details of my job, who I would be working with, in what department and everything I had access too. Any further questions I could just ask my main co-workers which were a certain 'Bak-Chan' and 'Fou'.

After the tour she instructed me on where to go so that I'd come to my working area and I was off. I arrived shortly after I said my goodbye's to Miss. Lee and opened the maroon-coloured door which lay in my path, and on the inside was my paradise.

I went in and there were white shades right in front of me you know? For usage as the backgrounds if I want, like I add in a background of maybe some hills from Schweiz, or maybe a bloody enormous sunset with just a layer of sea in view. Then there were these big lights that could illuminate even the darkest of shadows, I mean really, even those shadows you see in alleyways at the darkest hour of the night. And all these different cameras were spread out which were accompanied by stands and loads of empty scrolls for the future picture-taking! It was amazing! Oh! And the walls were a golden colour, a mixture of bright yellow and a hint of orange which doesn't really make it golden, but close enough to be golden and yet to not have a name.

It's just… indescribable.

And I jumped when a hand was set on my left shoulder.

"GAH!" Allen almost crashed into the camera which was on his side if it weren't for the fact that the same person who had laid their hand on his shoulder had grabbed him before he fell. Holding him by the elbow another Asian man bowed a little in forgiveness and waves his hands at Allen after releasing his elbow; he had a bright grin on his face and his golden locks were strewn across his forehead.

"Sorry, sorry. I just thought it would be a good moment for me to pop you out of your little trance. You seemed real caught up in the scenery… and I don't blame you. It's gorgeous isn't it?" The man placed his hands on his hips casually and took a gander around the room they were currently standing in. Everything seemed so peaceful and cool; it's impossible for you not to stare in awe at all the fascinating stuff located in front of you. The man suddenly turned to Allen with an awkward smile.

"I'm Bak-Chan by the way." He held out his hand. "I'm one of the main photographers here along with Fou. She's not here at the moment though." Allen shook the Bak's hand at smiled in return.

"I'm Alle—"

"Who the hell are ya?" Both Bak and Allen turned their gazes to the door that was still open and now had a short, angry woman in its entry. She held her hands on her hips in a strong manner and her legs were spread as if blocking the entrance. Taking aback by the sudden intrusion Allen fought to find his lost words.

"Um.. I'm, uh… I'm—"

"I'm, I'm I'm…? Stop stutterin'! I said who are ya?!" She pointed a finger accusingly at Allen and struck a pose.

"D'aaahh.. I'm, uh.. I'm…"

"Fou, calm down. This child was just looking at the room, he didn't touch anything." After this comment Bak quickly leaned down to Allen and whispered. "Did you touch anything…?"

"No…!" And they both nodded in unison.

"Don't matter! Who the hell is this boy and why is he here?!" Allen cleared his throat before stepping into frame, causing Bak to take a step back.

"I'm Allen Walker. I was assigned by Lenalee Lee to be a professional photographer here. She did tell me that I would be working with two other people as well, I'm guessing it's you two." He looked back and forth at Bak and Fou before continuing his little explanation. "I don't really know much about this fashion world, mainly I take pictures that inspire me. So I'm just wondering, is it alright if I rely on the both of you to help me out, considering you have more experience than me and all?"

"Obviously we will watch out for you." Bak stepped forward once more and laid his hand on Allen's shoulder, and this time, he didn't jump. Bak flashed a re-assuring smile Allen's way and then looked up at Fou with the same smile.

"Fou, you remember that meeting you missed?"

"No." He face was plain and she said it like she didn't have a care in the world. It was here that Bak got an angry mark on his head but repressed it as he continued to idly chat with his colleague.

"Well, since you missed it, let me fill you in on the details. Basically Lenalee told me that she was recruiting a new member to our lovely family in fashion! And he was going to be a photographer and he was quite young as you can see," he gestured back to where Allen was standing "which means we're going to have to mother him. Be his parents during his first few weeks here until he gets the hang of things. You understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever! Let's get this show on the road now!" Fou thrust her hands into the air and pumped her fist in an energetic motion.

Note 2 Self;

Fou is loud.

--

_Allen's Photographer Notes:_

_Bak and Fou don't go well together._

_Bak and Fou don't go well without each other._

_Looking into the camera lens and looking at the camera lens will not result in similar pictures._

_Always use flash._

_Flash is blinding._

_Flash button is on top next to On/Off button._

_Flash button is broken_

_I hate the flash._

_This Weeks Topic; Imagination_

_Material; Paintings, people, scenery, words, poetry, hiring a few people to go along with their paintings etc. etc. perhaps give a permanent job to a artist or poet or painter and have them contribute by giving in creative stuff_

_Flash camera breaks easily when thrown against wall._

--

_A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS_

**-RiiNG RiiNG-**

**-CLiCK-**

"_Hello?"_

"_Oi, Yuu-chan! How'd the job searching go?"_

"_Didn't find anything worth struggling for."_

"_Well, I have some huge news for ya! Lena-chan's article team need volunteer—"_

"_I don't do volunteering."_

"_Ahh… well… Oh! Oh! Their photography team is actually also looking for, not volunteers, but people to hire for their new piece! Something about creativity and imagination, taking the readers mind and putting it in the newspaper, and the good thing is if it increases their viewers percentage rating you'll get a permanent job!"_

"…"

"_Just go and try it Yuu! Look, I even helped one of the main photographers to get their job there, they're even on the hiring committee, I might be able to put in a good word for ya!"_

"_Don't. Call. Me. That."_

"_Dayuum, even your words across the phone sound venomous. Anyways! Just try it! Ya still have the card right? Cus I can send you an e-mail with the address again, with the phone number and some information about the job interview if you want."_

"_Don't."_

"_Alright! Alright! By the way, it's very simple. Ya just go in, sit down and there will be people who ask you questions, probably about why you want the job and what inspires you. Now, see, yer not exactly great with the words ya know, so bring in a piece of your art, one of yer paintings 'kay? Oh! Oh! Bring in the one of the cherry blossoms you drew raining down over a river stream! That one is B-E-autiful!"_

"_I got it."_

"…_Aren't you going to ask me about my day?"_

"_Honestly I don't give a fuck."_

"_Neh~ Yuu-chan, yer so mean! I met a guy ya know!"_

"_Oh no, another poor sucker you've befriended."_

"_Horrible…! Unlike someone I know he enjoys my company. And he's drop dead gorgeous. And he listens when I talk and replies with the best lines. And he understands my jokes!"_

"…_I think you just got stuck in the friend zone."_

"_Eh? Naah, not possible! I mean we had a blast and he was even the one who asked me out for coffee!"_

"_I don't have the energy to fucking argue with you anymore. I'm hanging up now._

"_Fine.__. But I'll send ya an e-mail anyway, ya gotta know the time and location after all ya know! Alright then. Good luck Yuu. And I am not stuck in the friend zone,"_

…

"_Believe me."_

**-CLiCK-**

_THIS HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS_

--

**I seriously hate flashes.**

**You know the 'give head' thing? Yeah, I know I made Allen all stalkerish and stuff, but I never said he wasn't innocent. x3 I just made him watch Kanda from afar cus he's pure like that, and he goes to Church every Sunday and he knows the rules and has read the Bible several times (I haven't, I'm not even Christian, I just use Google like any other normal teenage yaoi fangirl) and he doesn't know ANY sexual terms… except for sex. Shit, I can't wait for Kanda to de-flower Allen's mind&&body xDD (sorry if he's OOC by the way, I just really see Kanda as a perv when he finally realizes he likes Allen… I WONDER WHEN THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE MANGA!! –is hoping Hoshino heard that even though I wrote it-)**

**Also. I didn't actually believe the Noah skin colour existed until a few days ago when I saw that my brother's skin had become real tanned and dark, and then I noticed he looked like Devit/Debit/David whenever he came out of the pool. So every morning I wake up and when I enter the kitchen I 'kyaaah', but not a long 'kyaaah' but a short, lous, fast one like 'KYAH!" and then I realize it's my idiot brother Ramtin, or as my friends like to call him (evne I'ma starting to get his name wrogn O.o), Ramses.**

**Anyways!**

**R&R please? I'm asking for 3 at least. And a question if you wish to give me your opinion, please?**

**Should I write Yullen(lemon) early on in the story or later like all the other series? Cus I have a good idea on how the Yullen should come in like 2 chapters after this.**

**Oh! Oh! And question 2! Should I write a lemon at all?**

**[ N O W R A N D O M R A N T I N G A N D S T U F F I W A N T T O G E T O F F M Y C H E S T A N D J U S T T A L K T O M Y S E L F B T W C O U L D Y O U D E C I P H E R T H I S M E S S A G E ?]**

**I was listening to 'Get It Up' by Mindless Self Indulgence and 'In Love With A Girl' by Gavin DeGraw whilst writing this. (I don't have a gavin degraw fetish, just a few of his songs inspire my writing which is good, I guess)**

**I've fallen for Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and shockingly enough Hi****bari isn't my favourite character, but sweet-sweet Yamamoto-kun is! xD &&there are fangirls who like him with Hibari (I support&&like too) but I don't know who goes on top and who's the uke… I think both of it will be hot but I'd prefer Yamamoto 'teach' Hibari not to be so rude –nosebleed lawl(iet)- Gokudera is full of awesome as well obviously! Octopus-head, ahahahaha! xD –gets blown up- &&you can't forget his insane 'Juudaime'(10****th****!)-fetish with Tsuna… god I love that.. everytime I heard that yell I laugh cus I know he's coming! Oh! And Dino-san! I'm seriously not kidding, it's like looking into a mirror. A reflection of myself. Like when I'm alone I crash into walls like 16 times a day, but when I'm around my friend I only crash into walls like 3 times a day O.o**

**-rant rant rant-**

**when you look at the side mouse bar thing here-------------------------------------------------******

**You prolly thing that this was a long chapter, but I just feel like I need to talk and let it all out because I haven't been bothering my readers enough since Italy D:**

**Psssh! BTW! (my friend always says 'pssh' r 'ssshhh' after she has a sip from a coke can or red bull can or monster can xDD it's hilarious; oh wow, a whole page of ranting 8D)**

**I was in Sicily the last 8 days and then went to Holland for the last 2, which means I was gone for 10 yeah. And Italy was fun! I got a tan! But I'm Persian so a tan doesn't really show I guess, I'm naturally beige 8B**** The streets in Trapani are reaaaaaaaally fun and yu get lost easily (believe me, I got lost 14 times just looking for LiDL, FYI, it was around the OTHER corner) –slams head into desk-**

**Dw, I'll have all my adventures in my new fanfic 'Payback's a bi-ATCH' cus apparently you can't have swear words as titles in FF. It'll prolly be a bit too much but it's a crossover fanfic of everything like FMA, KHR, Naruto, One Piece, KH2, InuYasha, just amy random anime! 8DD Which means I'll be deleting *coughzeroprophecycough* cus I'm not interested in it anymore and my passion for it has been blown away, and tbh, I don't know where to go from now on so yeah~ **

**Kthxbai! xoxo**


	4. A Twist In The Story

**Neeeh~ I hope nobody is mad about Zero Prophecy, but it's Kanda-Is-All-I-Want's problem now. I hope you guys are pleased with this chapter considering the amount of spelling mistakes or sentence errors I made. But we can get past that right?**

**After all, no one is perfect ;P**

**

* * *

**

It's annoying how the opinion of the adults matter so much in this society.

Everything is created to keep order for them because they believe you're not an adult until you've crossed the age limit and have some sort of dumbass license that approves your age. If you don't have that you're fucked and have no voice in this world. There are some people though who actually try and make this a fair society, for both children and adults, and elders somehow don't categorize under adults which is bullshit. My grandmother always told my mother she was her little girl and she always would be; so why was she not considered an adult, and why was my mother not considered a child? Because my grandmother can't do fucking labour work anymore, she's basically not contributing to our shitty society to get noticed.

Another thing is that they want us to be careful with our language, use it delicately and make sure it's appropriate for people. This is what's really fucked up because there is no age where you should start swearing; there is no time or test or anything you must pass to earn yourself the right to swear, it just comes naturally. I, myself, learnt everything from TV; all about swearing, sex and other horrendous truths that we were protected from as children. And when you talk to your friends you understand them on your level, you can say anything and they'll reply with something dirty and it'll make complete sense to you. Every word they say is like talking to a mirror image that fulfils your needs and is always there for you when you have problems. That is the kind of things that need an age limit, because kids should help out kids with their problem, because you know they can relate being the same age at the moment. Say if you were some fucking teenage girl and you lost your virginity to this shit boy, and you find out he was cheating on you; you wouldn't tell your mother about because you know she'll have a bitch fit. Searching for comfort in a friend is the right thing to do because they've been there, they're on their way there, and they can experience and listen to your every word then come up with a reliable answer. Even if the answer is 'I don't know'.

That's the thing; parents give the 'good' answer which society decides will eventually lead you on the path to righteousness, and exclude the 'honest' answer, they're opinion. It's all just gone.

Working is not considered work unless you get paid for it. Not when you're small and playing in the sandbox with your friends or playing a round of doctor when it's just you and a couple of kids left for the last few hours of kindergarten. Not even when they pile loads and loads of fucking papers on your desk in 7th grade and tell you to solve the shit for good grades; they say work, but it's not classified as work unless you earn anything. And when you're done working at fucking school, you head on to get an actual job where you get paid, and that's what they call 'working'. So everything you did up until then was bullshit, it was just 'practice', just something that would help you easily roll into the new world and its hardships. But what's really fucked up is if you don't complete the assignments you're given and fail them all, you're held back and your confidence drops. You start fearing that you'll do everything wrong and you go through life with uncertainty and regrets, maybe's and maybe not's, this and that, what if's and buts; all of these swirl around your mind and confuse you to the extent where you're only confident about one thing.

You're scared.

* * *

Currently Lavi was sitting in a coffee shop near his apartment, it was only a few blocks away and the tea here was great! He wasn't a coffee drinker because he'd seen the effect it had on others; it was like smoking except in his opinion it was a bit worse. A few people had actually talked to their coffee as the drops poured down the filter and left a ripple effect in the dark liquid which was slowly rising. They would mutter for the filter to hurry up, talking to themselves about how good it would taste and show signs of impatience towards being somewhere like work, but not leaving until their beloved coffee was done. For God's sake, just take a water bottle!

It was sort of bad that he had that thought about coffee because the man sitting across him was sipping on his black coffee with no sugar, not like he pays attention or anything, and humming as the warmth spread throughout his body after gulping a part of it down. It was amazing how he could look so sexy even drinking coffee; and what made him even sexier was that he reminded Lavi of coffee. Dark coffee, hot, steamy, exotic and eccentric. He wasn't sure coffee tasted like that but he knew the beans weren't from England, so it was at least exotic. Lavi held up his cup of tea and sipped a bit, savouring the sugary flavour which he'd added to the liquid right after receiving the little china cup. He set his cup down again after drinking about a quarter of it and left it on it's little round plate to cool down.

"So are ya a model?" Tyki looked up from his cup which he currently held in both hands, he had previously been blowing on it in the hope of removing a bit of its warmth. Nodding he took another quick sip before setting down his cup as well, then brought his hands together and clasped them. Lavi took a teaspoon from beside his china plate and started mixing around the substances in the cup. He enjoyed watching the colours swivel around, going round and round, like a record baby, you spin me right round, round, round—

Okay, so apparently songs easily take over your mind.

Honestly, it wasn't his first time. Before this song came into his head he had been occupied with "Cell Block Tango" from the Chicago Musical, and it was bitchin'! And previously his inner mind kept singing 'No Life Without Wife' from 'Bride and Prejudice', and before that it was 'I Want To Grow Old With You' by Adam Sandler from 'The Wedding Singer'. …Wait a second… that's where he got right round from! Damnit, songs from movies really get stuck in your mind eh? Especially the ever so famous teen movie song now a days; Dirty Little Secret by 'The All-American Rejects'; not going to lie here, it is wonderful. And is like I said, used in many teen movies today.

"What sort of occupation do you have?" Lavi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Tyki who actually looked like he was interested. Jobs weren't exactly an interesting subject and he wanted to move on from there, but he had to be polite. He found it funny that Tyki had said 'occupation' and not 'job' or 'work' like people commonly used; saying occupation was so formal.

"Uhh… Well, I dunno if I can call myself this yet, seeing as I haven't given anything out yet but… I write." Lavi tapped his spoon on the edge of the cup, eliciting small metallic sounds from the tiny piece of china. The colour of the tea was now a brown colour, however Lavi would dub it 'honey'.

"Ah, that's very interesting. What do you write?" Tyki began smoothing out his napkin.

"Well, I mostly write teen novels. Mainly 'cause I want to get teens interested in readin' again an' not just waste all of their time doin' pointless stuff like partyin' or getting high or drunk." His single eyebrow furrowed and an irritated expression flashed across his face. It was obvious he was not happy about what he was just thinking about.

And what was he thinking about?

His high school years. They had sucked! Lavi was labelled as a nerd in school just because he enjoyed spending time in the library reading and studying instead of going out and being an idiot. He had good looks for sure but that didn't help his reputation at all; he still kept getting picked on by bullies throughout those four years, kept getting wedgies and spit balls thrown at him during classes, and the ever so famous dipping your head into the toilet and flushing. He absolutely _loathed _that. He'd finished high school with full marks and he still had a thirst for knowledge, but he couldn't handle another couple of years with a different set of bullies; these ones being stronger, meaner, better and faster! Like a transformer! He never attended college and jumped straight to writing which was his passion, and he was, not to brag, excellent at it. He even got honourable mention from his English teachers through 5th grade and up until the last year of high school. At least they understood and noticed his talent.

Tyki kept interrogating Lavi about his so called 'occupation' which he didn't believe counted as one, and he seemed to sound a teensy bit interested in his field of work.

"Ah, a smart man I see. Have you written anything good so far?" He ended with a sincere smile which intrigued Lavi; he felt like he should explain thoroughly to this man. Perhaps he could come up with some feedback or a few tips? Lavi grasped his cup with both hands, feeling the heat radiate from the cup and burn his hands slightly, but not enough so he would remove his hands. He liked this heat. It made him feel comfortable.

"I dunno if someone like ya would consider it good, but I have started on a story which I deem… 'oh my fucking god'" Lavi chuckled at his level of quickness for words; wasn't he supposed to be a writer? He could do better than that! No… wait… No he can't. Not with this guy around.

"Aha... really? Well, care to share this 'oh my fucking god' story? Do you think that's what I will think after I hear it?" Tyki rotated in his chair letting his legs hang over the side of his chair, one arm placed on his seat which is suppose to support his back and the other on the table enabling him to lean forward without losing his balance.

"…I believe so. If ya like drama an' humour in one."

"This shall b interesting then. I don't actually fancy humour and dramas mixed, but let's see if you can convert me." Lavi took a moment to prepare himself, rolling his eyeball up towards the ceiling trying to remember the important details and parts necessary for the plot of the story. Finally after having arranged what he would say in his head he opened his mouth and began hauling Tyki into his world of imaginative drama.

"Well, it starts of with a simple gander into this guy's life; he's like 16-17 years old right?" Tyki shot an approving nod Lavi's way to let him know he understood so far, so Lavi continued, also using hand motions this time to actually capture the seriousness of his words.

"Right, so this guy, Edward, is just a student at this school, an' he's normal, he doesn't stand out but he's not a nerd either. He's kind of a loner an' likes to eat alone but sometimes with others even if he dun know 'em. He's just one of these guys whose been aroun' for a long time but never taken the liberty to get ta know anyone. So anyway! One day, this new kid arrives at his class an' his name is Joey, an' the first time Edward looks up at 'im he sparks an interest in him. An' Joey is one of these athletic boys, but with a feminine body ya know? An' he's pretty popular with the girls an' good mates with the guys, an' is real witty, I was hopin' ta give him a sense of humour like Chandler Bing from 'Friends'." At this Tyki laughed.

"Anyway, Joey's gay an' he's open about it, an' seeing as he's getting along so well with everyone nobody seems to mind, except for the usual people who seem ta think gays are disgusting, those homophobic ones. I'll tell ya, homophobe is gay! So anyway, then Joey starts talking to Edward one day because he noticed that Ed never speaks ta anyone much an' he usually spends his time sittin' alone and flippin' through various books. They talk and become good friends, they spend a lot of time with each an' learn more an' more about each other, an' after like 4-5 months they hook up. Then like 3 months later when Edward turns 18 they have sex."

"Ooh, interesting."

"Mm, wait for it." Lavi held up his finger and smirked. "Edward is loyal to Joey, but one day he goes to this party an' meets this girl who he somehow keeps thinking of and reminds him a whole lot of Joey, an' by the end of the night after having a shit-load of drinks he sleeps with that girl too!" Tyki started waving his hands dismissively and began wailing.

"Woaw! Woaw! What about Joey? His boyfriend?" Lavi impatiently knocked on the table, but still with a grin on his face like he had a ominous plan.

"I'm getting' there, I'm getting' there. So, he sleeps with this girl, an' he later finds out her name is Delilah. So a few days later he goes to meet Joey and he's thinkin' about confessin' about him cheatin', but since he realizes he was drunk an' it was completely by accident he decides not to. However, he's supposed to meet Joey in town, an' as he approaches his meeting place he notices the girl standing right next to Joey. An' then he finds out that Joey and Delilah are twins! (2) " Lavi threw his hands up into the air and trying to suppress a smile that was waiting to burst out into a full grin on his face. He patiently waited for the older male's reaction who was currently resting his chin on his hand which was resting on his arm which was resting on the table. Wow, long.

After a moment Tyki sat up and blinked a few times before his booming voice erupted throughout the coffee house. "That… was… awesome! Holy fuck, how the hell will that go? Is Joey going to find out? What'll happen?" Lavi was, well, very pleased with this reaction and knew then that his story was very good. Marvellous perhaps? Probably.

"Neeh~ Sorry Tyki, but if you want to know the ending you have to wait until I finish it. I'll let you proof read it okay?" Tyki nodded approvingly with a smile on his face and a faint trace of sweat on his forehead. Was he really that excited over the story? Excellent!

"You have to publish that. And then loads of cash off of it and use it to write another fantastic story! This was just… wow. Fabulous. This, could be a TV-show."

"Like 'Desperate Housewives'?"

"Never as good as 'Desperate Housewives'"

"Ha! You watch 'Desperate Housewives'!"

"Shut up. It's good."

"I know." Lavi picked up his cup and took another sip of it. This had started it perfectly, and hopefully it would end perfectly as well. Or at least with an exciting ending.

* * *

Allen had been working at '-Man' for more than a week now and already he was getting adjusted to the same pattern every day. First enter the building, avoid the sneaky guard who always gives you a nasty stare because of your appearance; then take the elevator up to the 11th floor where the photography crew is. After stepping out of the elevator and onto the 11th floor you immediately accept a stack of papers handed to you by Lou Fa, an intern at the magazine. You utter a quick thank you and flash a smile before flipping through the papers and pacing down the hallway towards the photography room where Bak and Fou reside at the moment. Open the door and shut it gently then walk towards across the room to the table which is situated against the wall on the opposite side of the room, meanwhile ignoring Bak's and Fou's usual morning quarrel. Another intern by the name of Shifu offers you a cup of coffee and you politely decline, then pull out a chair and sit down, waiting patiently for your 'superiors' or 'teachers' to finish up their argument and gather around the table.

That my friend is the pattern Allen has been going through very single day since his second day. It has been enjoyable and predictable, but there was no excitement. It was all so boring.

Allen pulled on a piece of string which loosely hung from his striped T-shirt. Today he was wearing skinny jeans, the type people have labelled 'emo-wear', and he didn't care because they were comfortable and went with his attire. He was parading around in a pair of light yellow sneakers with the 'All Star' mark stitched in on the side. He wore a simple striped, navy blue T-shirt and a pair of fingerless gloves. The gloves didn't help cover up his deranged left arm which was an eye-sore to everyone around him, and he wasn't going to cover it up either. If people wanted to know him, they'd have to know the real him, and therefore love him as the real him.

Allen fingered the golden necklace he was wearing and carefully placed the object attached to the golden chain in between his rosy lips. The object was a eagle, he had received it from Tyki when he had gone to Iran to visit his uncle on a business trip; he said he'd bought the necklace at an old antique shop and that the eagle's name was 'Shaheen' and represented courage. Lately Shaheen had been glimmering an awful lot, quite a bit more than he usually does; it was always times like these that Allen would get his hopes up about everything, not paranoid but he thought he would get some sort of sign or treat from God for being a good boy. It was odd because even though he was a Christian and he did have a cross on a necklace, he never wore it. He was very religious and very loyal, but somehow he just couldn't bear suiting that cross necklace all day; it was like putting yourself out there and stating what you are. People can't guess, they get the stereotypical idea that you're the perfect, no bad language, good study boy.

And that was only partially true.

"Quit ya daydreamin' man! We gots work to do!" Fou leapt onto a seat and sat in that position with her feet on the chair and sort of kneeling with her hands resting on her knees. Bak followed shortly after and his hair was disoriented making Allen think that today's fight must've been a big one. Bak was also holding a set of papers in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other; he used his leg to pull out a chair and took his seat before sipping his coffee and placing the papers on the table, spreading them out so everyone could clearly see it.

"These papers," he set down his cup gently using his finger as a cushion (2) "are the people who sent in requests that we use their material for '-Man'. All together there are 36 people, which is plenty considering we sent out the invitation on such a short notice."

"Whatta about it? Now whatta we do?" Fou swayed from side to side on her chair whilst remaining her balance. Allen looked from the two older photographers and absorbed the information, trying to somehow be part of this conversation and be of some sort of use.

"I think an interview would be well. That way we could talk to the person ourselves and also view their art or skill or anything up close." There was a moment of silence between the trio; Bak had his hands placed down on the table on either side of him with the palms facing down, Fou was still swaying but paid no attention the conversation any more and Allen was nervously awaiting a reply.

"That's not a bad idea."

Oh thank God. His suggestion wasn't horrible.

"We do however have a problem, see we lack time." Bak waved his left hand in the air and gestured with his hand in tact with his speaking.

"This next piece for the magazine has to go out on Friday, and that's 4 days away and we still haven't completed or even come up with any ideas for that."

At this comment Fou sat down on her ass and swung her legs over the chair; she let herself fall back and inch before supporting herself on her arms. Her voice was loud and clear, yet the rudeness was evident, even if she was trying to help.

"I gots some pics I took when I went out randomly, the park really is gorgeous and it falls under our subject 'Walking On Air' yeah. I could send them ta ya and ya tell me if they're useable or not, yeah?"

"Thank you Fou, I'm glad I can rely on you. So I guess we've got that settled for the moment. How many shots did you get?"

"Ta bad I only got like…" The small girl tilted her head to the side and rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling before shutting them fully. "6 shots, and they might not even be that good though I seriously doubt it with my talents and all."

Bak removed a few piece of paper from the spread out stack and disposed of them, which means he simply placed them on another part of the table away from the other remaining piece in front of him."Yeah… granted. Then we've landed on the issue of time again, there's a high chance we won't be able to speak to the people who have applied in person, but more likely over the phone or intercom. We definitely need more than 6 photos and we have to get a shot of each angle then determine which pictures fit our subject the best. Allen, are you hanging along?" He turned to the young male who had been silent for quite a while now during their conversation and found that he was indeed listening intently and nodded when asked the question.

"Mmh. I was just wondering… since you guys are experienced and all with this, I believe that if I tagged along to help you fulfil the task I'd just end up slowing you down,"

Fou sat up straight and leaned forward resting her chin in her hands. "I agree with that idiot kid. Ooh, who said that?" Her lame joke was accompanied by Fou looking around the room with desperate eyes; it wasn't even that funny.

…

…

…

Okay, maybe it was a little funny.

"Very funny Fou." Bak let out a sigh before motioning with his hand towards a certain platinum-haired boy. "Continue Allen."

Unsure if he should continue with his idea he entwined his fingers and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I was just wondering if perhaps I could stay here with the interns and get like 2 of them for the hiring committee, so I could stay behind and interview the appliers. Because I am good with people, really, and I'm just a beginner here so this will be easy for me. Besides, this way we get two birds with one stone."

Another silent moment.

That's broken.

"…That's not a bad idea. I think we could do that actually. Fou, do you want a say in this?"

Fou was currently swinging her legs under the chair and trying to get something out between her teeth using her tongue. Uninterested she kicked one of the table's leg, startling Bak and earning herself a few faint curses from the Chinese man.

"Neh, I think the kid's alright, he is capable of talking so he can handle a few visitors and shit. But hey," she suddenly leaned and grabbed the edge of the chair with one hand and slammed her fist into the table with the other. "Ya better not screw this up kid! We gotta get the best people on this crew, okay? Pick the ones that fascinate ya and the ones ya think will draw in more readers, something special, yeah?"

Allen nodded slowly and swallowed the eerie feeling that had begun crawling its way up his throat. Best described as fear, an emotion he felt a lot when in the presence of Fou.

* * *

Kanda was walking down the street with his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, giving him comforting warmth and protecting him against the chilly air which pranced around him. His breathe turned into white fog every time he exhaled and he would shiver at the sensation of feeling a cold wind brush against his cheek. It was a normal Mars noon but today the weather was extra frosty, radiating cold and howling winds running through the streets. In a way it could be described as a ghost story if it wasn't for the masses rushing up and down the streets in a hurry to get someplace where nobody cared or ever wanted to know about.

Just as the people, Kanda was headed towards the '-Man' building for the second time today. Earlier that he had been tempted to go up and demand an answer on whether or not he got accepted as the magazine's 'creative volunteer' who got paid. And he'd walked all the way there only to change his mind and turn at the last second and walk into a random store; thankfully it was a coffee shop and he took the opportunity to order a cup of coffee. Shit, this place was a thousand times better than Starbucks.

Whilst waiting for his coffee Kanda let his eyes search the room and absorb every detail and person in the room; and finally his eyes stopped on a certain red-headed creature which was situated across another unfamiliar dark-haired character. Being able to only see the back of the person's head Kanda couldn't make out who it was, but since Lavi's last phone call he guessed it was the guy he had been on about and completely denying that they were in the 'friend' zone.

Okay, Kanda may be considered an asshole, and idiot, a jackass, unsensitive bastard, selfish prick and much more; but when it came to relationships he could sniff out catastrophes miles away. Fortunely for Lavi this wasn't a catastrophe, but it had all the signs of being just friends and wanting nothing more. It was odd. Kanda was so horrible with people, animals, emotions and objects, but still he could somehow analyze someone else's life at first glance and decipher their secret. Unbelievable.

From what he saw it looked like Lavi was having a good time, and in return so was the unknown character. They were laughing together and lips were moving even though he wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying. A lot of physical contact though it looked playful and not at all serious, which was a mistake Lavi often which ended up with people not taking him seriously.

"Your coffee sir?" Kanda turned to look at the man who had just brought him his pleasure. Sticking his hand into his jacked pocket he rummaged through until he found what he was looking for; he pulled out a few bills and dropped a few coins onto the counter before grabbing his coffee and exiting the shop and heading home.

And now he was on his way back the same way, except for the fact that his destination this time was different. He had reached the building when in the midst of his thoughts and unconsciously pushed open the front door. His thoughts still kept wandering through his mind and he didn't even notice when a woman brushed up against him and batted her eyelashes at him; flirtation. He was however not unaware of the glare that was radiating from a nearby security guard at the front desk, and being Kanda he just sent an equally, if not possibly more frightening glare back at him. He avoided the few people who were circling the room just going places and collecting paperwork and made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited patiently for it to reach his floor before the doors spread open and revealed a young Chinese woman.

"Ah, Kanda-kun!"

It was Lenalee. Honestly, Kanda hadn't talked to Lenalee in ages, not since she dropped out of school 2nd year of high school. There were rumours that went around saying she was evicted from her apartment and now she had to move back in with her brother. Another was that she did so poorly in school that they had to suspend her for being so terrible, which Kanda knew was bullshit because she was one of the top 5 in their classes. But the worst rumour was that Kanda had impregnated Lenalee and she had dropped out to raise the kid herself. Kanda's reputation had taken a major blow here and even the teachers didn't believe that Kanda was innocent. This rumour stayed behind long after she left and was actually the reason he too dropped out of high school; but it was the last year so it didn't make a difference, his head was filled with knowledge. But art was where his heart laid, and it was his passion, always had been, always will be.

After Lenalee dropped out though they had broken up because they were both occupied with their own worlds, and frankly, never had the time to meet up with each other or even call each other on the phone.

Hesitantly Kanda walked into the elevator and stood next to Lenalee, his thumb hovering over the '11' button.

"Are you getting off here?" Smiling Lenalee turned to him and replied in that sweet angelic voice.

"No. I was actually going up to the 11th floor, but when I entered the elevator it just dropped. And then the doors opened and there were you!"

"Yeah…" Kanda pressed the button and let his hands fall to his sides, one of them finding their way into his jacket pocket. The silence in the elevator was far from awkward; actually, it was re-assuring in a weird kind of way. "So what business do you have on the 11th floor?"

Lenalee looked over to Kanda for a second before turning her attention back to the closed doors in front of her, she wasn't being rude or anything but Kanda being the paranoid guy he is instantly thought that she was trying to not start a conversation with him. Instead though she smiled again and held up her stack of papers which she had held tightly to her chest and flipped through them, eliciting a light fanning sound.

"Oh. I just have to drop off these schedules at the photography studio and then collect a few various papers considering next months' topic." She looked up at Kanda and locked their eyes. "What about you?"

Okay, this was fucking awkward for him, but to her it seemed like a walk in the park! He wasn't his usual calm and collected self, and who wouldn't be if someone special to you from ages ago suddenly shared an elevator with you; what the fuck do you talk about? An not talking is not an option because these girls always need something to feel the emptiness of a room! Deciding that he should approach this matter as his usual self Kanda cleared his throat before answering Lenalee's recent question.

"I applied for a 'creative volunteer' job here and I'm here for an interview."

Lenlee pounded her fist in her hand and let out a surprised noise, the papers almost falling out of her arms if she hadn't caught them in the last second. Collecting the pieces she laughed before talking again. "Ah, of course you'll be chosen, I know that! Your art was always so beautiful Yuu!"

The feeling was coming back. That feeling where he wanted to kill someone by ripping off their dick and shove it up their ass, and then kill Lavi because he so kindly pointed out the new meaning of 'fucking yourself'. However, this feeling was gentler and not so full of bloodlust… Okay, he lied. He didn't have that feeling, just one of regret and a bit of embarrassment. Kanda lifted up his hand and rubbed his temples in a soothing manner, hissing quietly at the action.

"Could you… not call me that?"

Lenalee looked up at Kanda with a slightly shocked look, but she immediately passed that and the expression was quickly replaced with another lovely smile of hers.

"Eh? So my girlfriend-rights actually had dibs on your Christian name? What now? Even though we're friends I can't call you that?" She let every word linger and it was obvious she was toying with him, but to him it was that in that playful manner that friends used.

Or girlfriends.

"I just… don't like people calling me that." Kanda let his hand drop to his side and let out a low huff. The sign on the wall showed that they were now on level '10' and right after 10 comes 11, the floor both of them would be getting off at, and then most likely split ways and take different paths.

Lenalee looked down at the ground and her eyes fell a bit, creating half-lidded eyes. Her face was sincere and full of comfort, it was impossible for a guy not to feel the warmth that was emitted from this young lady. "I understand. You weren't so keen on that name before we met either I remember."

The young Japanese man took a moment to take in the look of his ex-girlfriend after all these years; she was still as gorgeous as ever and looked beautiful at every angle. Her hair was as soft as ever and she had grown into a mature woman, very different from when they were in high school together along with the idiot rabbit.

"…You've done well these past years."

She took her time.

"Thank you."

Suddenly there was a clinging noise and the sound of the doors working to open up could be heard. As the doors began their magic Lenalee turned to Kanda one last time and flashed him her most gentle smile, but also her genuine smile.

"Well Kanda, looks like we're getting off here. Good luck on your interview." She bowed a little before turning towards the doors once more.

"Thanks." Was all he said.

The metallic elevator doors slid open and revealed a very flustered Allen with coffee stains all over his snow-white hair.

* * *

**1 – This story is mine, I used it for Spanish, please don't use it for any other fanfic, especially not in a AkuRoku fanfic where Axel sleeps with both Roxas and Naminé and later realizes their twins… I told this story to all of my friends and they loved it. I'm so proud! xD**

**2 – Ouran High School Host Club tips anyone? 8D**

**So anyraaays~ I'm going to be mean and demand at least 10 reviews for this chapter, because soon, in chapter 6, well, actually 5, there's going to be a twist to the story, and I guarantee you… you will SQUEEL!**

**I'll be continuing on A Rose By Any Other Name now because I've been avoiding it mainly because I've been trying to figure out who the culprit is who punched Tyki :O**

**enJOY.**


	5. Would Yuu Sleep With Someone For A Job?

**MAJOR APOLOGIES! AND THIS IS A REAL CHAPTER! &&ALSO IMPORTANT QUESTION AT THE END!!**

**-Aisu.**

**--**

"A-allen?" Lenalee let her eyes wander over the white-haired boy standing in front of her panting slowly and noticed the small tears in his clothes, and not to mention, the coffee in his hair. "What… happened?" The pig-tailed woman stepped out of the elevator and began to fix Allen's clothes, pulling up his shirt over his shoulder and brushing off his jeans just in case something had stayed on.

Kanda couldn't believe it. The fucking kid from before… the kid from the elevator… was standing in front of him with coffee in his hair and was being pampered by his ex-girlfriend. He was breathing heavily and almost fell forward as he leaned towards Lenalee. His hands barely managed to curl themselves in her suit and he held on tight whilst shaking, his eyes slowly shutting.

"Fou." He breathed out. Lenalee's eyes fell down onto the boys' pale face and quirked an eyebrow.

"Fou?" Allen nodded slowly, gently working to pull himself straight up on his feet. Lenalee let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped. As soon as Allen was capable of standing on his own the Chinese girl shook her head and headed down the hallway with rapid steps, her high heels echoing down off the walls.

Kanda followed her every step until she stopped in front of a room, calmly coughed into her fist, and then slammed the door open with all her might. She may have a sweet exterior, but on the inside she was a pusher. A real mean bitch. Honest. That's why they'd gotten along so well when they first met. Kanda returned his attention to the boy in front of him, who didn't seem to notice he was there, but instead had his gaze concentrated on the floor.

His eyes narrowed. This brat kept showing up wherever he went nowadays. It was sort of mysterious. And weird. Was the kid stalking him? Did he want some dirt on Kanda or something? Was he an assassin? Fuck. Now he was paranoid.

Suddenly curses and screams could be heard from the room Lenalee had entered. There were three, one of them was Lenalee's and the other two were unknown to Kanda. It sounded like domestic violence and Lenalee was the abusive husband. The Japanese man turned his eyes carefully to the teen and noticed that he too was staring at the room, his eyes wide. Apparently the kid didn't really know how bad Lenalee's wrath was, because he started taking a few steps back as the obvious sound of glass shattering echoed through the hallways, accompanied by a very loud curse.

He remembered seeing the boy here before. He just assumed that the kid had some sort of errand to run, because the certainly wouldn't let some 12-year old look-alike kid onto the magazine staff. The boy shook his head slowly.

"Crazy. She's absolutely _crazy._" His breathing began slowing down as he spoke. "I-I… I was just asked to get coffee—"

Ah. He was an intern.

"And she said two sugars because she liked it sweet, so I got her two sugars, and-and… because she said she liked it sweet I thought I'd go the extra mile and— and I just poured just a _wee _bit of loose sugar into the coffee. Just like half a teaspoon and then delivered it to her. She takes one sip, and suddenly hauls the cup at me, and I barely manage to dodge it. It hits the wall and shatters, and then she starts yelling at me, really yelling profanities! And Bak-Chan tried to calm her down, but she just pushed him away, and then lunged at the cameras and started tearing the room apart. She just went completely ballistic!"

"That's a very interesting story. Does it come with someone who gives a shit?"

The younger boy attempted a glare, but it was interrupted as Lenalee calmly came out of the room, taking long strides towards the two males. She stopped in front of them both and turned to Kanda.

"Kanda… I'm going to have to ask you to come back in about half an hour. Unfortunately there have been a few… difficulties… technical difficulties actually, that I have to take care of first before allowing you to enter. I hope that's not too much trouble."

The Japanese man clenched his teeth and hastily put his hands behind his back. "For fuck's sake…" he hissed. He'd been waiting to complete this interview for what seemed like ages. And this was a very good opportunity for him, so it was important that he was on time and on target for everything. He'd never admit it, but he'd actually prepared himself for this.

He let out a huff of annoyance. "Fine."

The Chinese girl smiled and patted Kanda's shoulder. "Thank you, Kanda. And hey, now you have time to practice your speech and prepare you artwork. This'll do you good!"

Artwork?

Hoshit.

He'd completely forgotten. He needed a piece of art, picture or poem that he could present to the jackasses that would be hiring him. What a pain. He'd have to run to his art studio, pick out what he thought was his best piece of work and then drag it all the way back to the building and create a whole other speech; one that included some sort of mentioning of the piece of art that he would choose.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

"Yeah, sure." Kanda hurriedly turned away and pressed the button for the elevator. Right after his thumb pressed the button he realized that the elevator would probably take too much time, and their was always the chance that it might get stuff. Dumbass technology. Who the fuck invented all this confusing shit if it's just going to backstab you?! There was no way in hell he was going entrust his life to a computer or TV, so why the fuck did others depend on them so much?

Perhaps stairs were a safer option.

"Where're the—" he never had the time to finish because Lenalee just pointed down the hallway.

"Straight down here and to the left. There'll be a glass door there and that one leads to the staircase. Hurry Yuu." Kanda gave a quick nod before starting down the hall, ignoring the faint mumbling still coming from the 'technical difficulties' room and headed for the staircase.

Lenalee let out a small giggle before turning her attention to Allen, who was currently staring at Kanda's retreating back. Lenalee clasped her hands together and spoke in a chirpy voice.

"So! Allen! I'm sorry but it seems that—"

"You know him?"

"Hm?" Lenalee's eyes opened, confusion evident on her face. "What?"

"Ah, I mean… Do you… _know_, that guy. The one that was just here. With long black hair and not so… smiley." Lenalee giggled again as Allen shut his eyes and his face flushed. God, could anyone _be _less imaginative than him. He could've just said 'asian guy, mean', but oh no, he had to talk like a blubbering five-year old idiot. He mentally facepalmed himself.

"Yeah, I know him. That's Kanda."

Oh. So she knew Kanda.

"Ahh… but you called him… you?" There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Oh yeah. Yuu. It's spelt Y-U-U. He hates it when people call him that though. You can really see that angry mark on his forehead then." Lenalee pointed to her forehead and then waved her hand dismissively with a small laugh.

Allen began tugging at the end of his shirt, a tiny bit of jealousy bubbling. Well, this wasn't really fair was it? He shouldn't be envious because Lenalee knows the man who he's been stalking and is so madly in love with's name. He knew it too now, so it's equal, right?

"Ah… So, how do you two know each other?"

Lenalee began easing up into the conversation, her leg went out and she sort of rested all her body weight on her hip, as if to indicate that she would be staying here for quite a time. "Oh, we have history together."

That _bitch.(1)_

Lenalee continued. "Me, him and Lavi used to be real close in high school." As she finished her sentence she crossed her middle finger over her index finger and stuck out her tongue childishly.

Suddenly Allen remembered something.

Lavi.

Red.

"L-Lavi!" He stuttered, although he was practically shouting it. "I know that name!"

Lenalee took a step back and her eyebrows rose at Allen's sudden outburst, and also at the new piece of information she'd just found out. "Really? You know Lavi?" She let out a low fake gasp that girls use around each other when they're intrigued. (2)

Allen nodded eagerly, a light smile gracing his lips. "Uh-huh. I met him at the library the other day. He and my friend really hit it off and started talking like they'd known each other forever. I was completely lost and couldn't keep track of the things they were talking about." The British boy rubbed his forehead gently with three of his fingers and let out a gust of air, followed by another smile.

"Ohh…" The Chinese girl rubbed her chin. "Is that so?" A devious glint was hidden behind those calm eyes, and damn, she was enjoying where this conversation was going. "Well from the few details you've told me, it sounds like those two will end up together."

Allen flushed a bit, making him look very adorable with his hands in front of him defensively. "Uhm, I don't know. They seemed like they had chemistry, but Tyki has—"

"Tyki?" Damn. "It's a guy?"

"Mhm."

She _really _liked where this conversation was going.

"Oh, Lavi, honey, hell yeah…" A smirk made its way onto her lip for the slightest second before disappearing just as fast as it had come. "Anyway. Allen. I'm sorry about the inconvenience and the pain that Fou caused you, and the fact that you had to suffer. But know one thing!" She smacked Allen's shoulders, one hand on each shoulder and ignored the hissing noise that the younger teen let out. Instead she continued. "Be proud of yourself Allen boy! Because most people can't even survive Fou's first physical attack and her insanity at its fullest. You are indeed a fighter. A true fighter my man. True fighter."

Moment of silence.

…

Comfortable silence, mind you.

"…Lenalee, I'm scared. I really, really am. My opinion on Fou has changed drastically since the moment I met her an hour ago and I believe that if I enter that room once more, I'll be stabbed in the chest repeatedly by a shard of a broken coffee cup in the hands of Fou… and she'll enjoy it whilst I let out a yell that will shake the very core of the ground before I fall onto my knees and the blood trickles down onto the floor."

Lenalee tapped the corner of her mouth with her nimble finger, her eyebrows furrowed up and her mouth open like a goldfish. She looked pretty odd, but you could tell she was deep in thought. She even let out a 'huh'. "That was _very _descriptive, Allen. Well done on using your vocabulary." The Chinese girl patted Allen's chest and laughed lightly.

"It's the truth!" he yelled out.

"Ahahaha, that's just what you think." Once again Lenalee waved her hand in front of her face with that innocent plastered onto her lips. "She's actually a very lovely person."

Suddenly there was a scream that both Lenalee and Allen guess was Bak-Chan's, and then they saw Fou stomp out of the room, turn around and strike a pose as she pointed an accusing finger into the room.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! FUCK YOU!" She then turned to Lenalee and Allen and flipped them off. "FUCK ALL OF YOU!" And then she stomped down the hallway and slammed another door shut.

"…"

"…"

"…So I was lying, big dif? You're working with her anyway, whether you like it or not."

"Are you… threatening me?"

"Oh, did that come out as a threat? I'm terribly sorry. What I meant was, if you want to work in photography, she's your senior… and I can't do anything about it. She may have an awful temper—"

Allen was about to say 'that's putting it lightly' but never had the chance as Lenalee's hand quickly came up and covered the platinum-haired boys mouth.

"_Believe me. _I _know_. But she's an amazing photographer and is somehow capable of turning a crappy newspaper article photo into a Picasso painting. Modernized, of course. So you'll just have to endure…"

Allen pouted. It wasn't that he had anything against Fou, like hate or something. It was just that he was more terrified of the girl. Sure, he knew that girls were uhh… bitches, but they were always so kind and graceful on the outside. But Fou… wow. Right now, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd on her way down hauled a worker out of the window and somehow set fire to the 2nd floor. He could imagine Fou doing that very clearly. So he'd have to endure someone like that huh? He wasn't sure he'd be able to manage, but he guessed that if he wasn't comfortable in his working environment Lenalee could just perhaps separate him from Fou and just have him work with Bak-chan.

Lenalee spoke up, as if almost reading his thoughts she said. "Unless you'd like to quit."

The British boy nodded quickly. "I think I'll stick with Fou for now."

"Wise choice." And she flashed him an affectionate smile. She walked past Allen and pressed the button for the elevator, then waited patiently for it to reach the top floor and for the doors to slide open. She hummed to herself, her grip on the papers in her hand tightening and held it against her chest. Allen was about to walk towards the room Fou had stormed out of and see if Bak-Chan was still alive, but stopped when Lenalee spoke.

"And oh. Allen." Allen turned his head and so did Lenalee. Silver eyes met violet. "I… think I'll be assigning you a different room, okay?"

Allen gave a small smile and nod. "That would be good."

--

_He doesn't look a thing like Jesus,_

_But he talks like a gentleman,_

_Like you imagined him,_

_When you,_

_Were young._

Tyki stretched his arms above his head as he let a yawn escape his mouth. It seemed odd, but after the few hours he'd spent with the red-head, he'd become perfectly comfortable being himself. Mainly because Lavi didn't care how he was seen by others, he did what he did whenever he felt like it, and most of the times he was seen as a mental teenager. That was of course if you didn't know him. After 5 minutes into a conversation with the young lad you would be able to tell that he was passionate about literature, but unfortunately very lazy, and had a thing for procrastination.

"What singer is this?" Tyki leaned back into his swivel chair. The two of them currently at the library, and surfing the net on the computers. They each had a separate one and they were showing each other songs they liked, and it was quite weird considering Tyki didn't really listen to the new music that young folks played nowadays, but he was used to listening to the soothing music of violins and oboes.

"'Tis a band, and they're called 'The Killers'." Lavi cracked his knuckles as he flexed his foot, making sure that every part of his body was stretched now. He had been sitting still for too long, which was indeed fascinating because he was known for being absolutely crazy and moving about from place to place. See, this really proved how addictive a computer was.

"'The Killers?' What kind of name is that?" Tyki turned his eyes to the red-head who was now typing a message on hotmail.

"I dunno. They just kinda came up with it. Every band does that once they begin. Like look at 'My Chemical Romance'." Tyki let out a sigh. That was the band that Rhode adored. She'd talk about their music and their shows and even the people in the band 24/7, and wouldn't rest unless she was eating or sleeping. It was honest to God, her one true love.

"You know, back in my days…" Lavi chuckled, and Tyki noticed this. "What?"

"…You're old." The Portuguese man's eyes widened as he slowly began to lift himself up in his chair and sit properly.

"Oi, oi… I am _not _old, okay? I just have a different taste in music than you do."

Lavi nodded with a small smile on his face as he finished up his letter to his grandfather. "Mm. Right."

"No, but really," Tyki pushed his chair forward until he came to a halt in front of his computer and placed his hands on the keyboard, his fingers ready to tap away on the buttons. "When I was younger than I am now, and I'm not saying I'm old—" he gave Lavi a side-glance. "It used to be music like this." And he tapped away on the keyboard.

_Well she's all you'd ever want  
She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner  
Well she always knows her place  
She's got style, she's got grace, she's a winner._

"She's a lady?" Lavi asked, distaste obvious in his voice as once slender eyebrow was raised. Tyki frowned.

"Tom Jones is a legend and loads of people still listen to him." Lavi took his mouse and moved it around until it landed on the internet bar and clicked on one of the links that was connected to YouTube.

"Isn't he like from the 70s? Honestly Tyki, my grandfather still listens to him and he's like _eighty._" Tyki tapped his finger against the desk.

"Yes? And what about it? He obviously has fantastic taste in music, whereas you, somehow, lost that trait." The Portuguese man grinned, and Lavi stuck out his tongue immaturely like some 6-year old child.

"_This,_" Lavi clicked on a clip on the page. "Is how music is supposed to sound like."

_I used to be love drunk  
But now I'm hungover  
I'll love you forever  
Forever is over_

"…"

"…"

"…That is absolute crap." Lavi almost fell out of his chair at the statement.

"Wha-?! Bullshit! That is genuine, well-done music! How can you say that that's crap?!" Tyki grinned and began typing something in on Lavi's computer.

"Easy. I just talk." He hit the enter button and then went for the mouse. Once he'd gotten it he moved it towards the clip and moved it forward to where the lyrics began. "Now this, without a doubt, is one of the world's greatest songs of all time."

_Oh my love, my darling  
I've hungered for your touch  
A long lonely time,  
And time goes by so slowly  
And time can do so much,  
Are you still mine?_

"I atually thought you were goin' to play 'I Will Always Love You'." Lavi fanned away Tyki's hands from his keyboard and began writing in some letters in the search bar. Tyki placed his hands behind his head and leaned back as he stretched his legs.

"Whitney Houston is good, but her voice is sort of too strong for my taste. Although I did love her in 'The Bodyguard'." Lavi hit the space button.

"Never heard of it. Now here, listen to this one, this is good."

_Love is like Novocaine  
And it leaves a little stain  
The beauty in all this pain is I can't get away from you  
So pull me down and don't make a sound_

"That, Lavi, was very… oh, what's the word…? Depressing." As if on cue, Lavi removed his hands from his keyboard and let Tyki write in his next shit song which he thought was excellent. The red-head shook his head disapprovingly. How was he supposed to get through to this man who thought all old music was better than the new singles that were released today?

"It may be a little depressin' from some people's point of view, yes… but if you concentrate on the lyrics you'll realize that what he is sayin' is in fact true."

Tyki clicked on the clip which caused it to pause, then clicked on the right arrow which moved the clip forward to a certain time, and the clicked on the space bar which made the clip play.

"This one is very moving. I recommend it." Tyki ignored Lavi sticking out his tongue.

_As long as I'm living,_

_I'll be waiting,_

_As long as I'm breathing,_

_I'll be there._

_Whenever you call me,_

_I'll be waiting,_

_Whenever you need me,_

_I'll be there._

"…Meh." Tyki raised an eyebrow.

"Meh? That's all you can say?" Lavi let out a huff, but he grinned as he did so, enjoying the light argument he was having with the Portuguese man who took his last comment to seriously.

"What do you want from me? That's the best I've given you so far!" Tyki tried to suppress a snort as he turned his head down, desperately trying to avoid a smile to spread across his face. It was funny, and true, but he was honestly trying to defend his music style here.

Lavi batted away Tyki's hands and began typing something in, then suddenly stopped. Tyki looked up and saw that Lavi was moving to the side bar where clips were recommended by YouTube. He clicked on one and they both sat quietly as they listened to the words flow through the speakers at a low volume.

_Tell her the chips are down,_

_I drank too much and shouted it aloud,_

_Tell her something in my heart,_

_Needs her more than even clowns need the laughter of the crowd_

"I've heard that in 'Scrubs'." Lavi clicked on reply as soon as the clip ended. Tyki nodded slowly as his eyes followed the cursor on the screen.

"Uh-huh. They have good songs on there." Lavi leaned forward to turn up the volume a bit on the speaker.

"Yeah, like 'Stolen' by Dashboard Confessional."

Tyki nodded and let a smile grace his lips as his eyes slid shut. "Love that song."

Lavi clasped his hands as he leaned back in his chair. "That's gonna be my wedding song." Tyki's eyes snapped open and he immediately turned his head to Lavi, and was just in time too as he saw the red-head blush furiously and cringe as he mentally kicked himself for the sudden, and very embarrassing, remark.

"…Pardon?"

--

Allen sat at a table shared with two other men. One of them had olive skin and messy dark hair with odd make-up on, and indeed a peculiar clothing style, though Allen knew his wasn't any better. The other had luxurious golden hair, with some sort of weird accessory attached to his head, and his attire wasn't the most fashionable either. Allen kept his gaze down as he neatly organized the papers in his hands.

They had already had 4 volunteers come in and show their work of art, or poetry, or songs that they had, and every one of them were… unique.

The first one was a young lady who had written a few of her poems. And honest to God, she was Emily Dickenson, her poems were gorgeous, but so depressing. She really had genuine talent, but when she mispronounced one of the words, she began the desperately sweat and kept on blabbering apologies until she finally made a dart towards the window and Allen had to grab a hold of her dress so she wouldn't jump. The two interns weren't at all helpful. All they did was remain seated and laugh at the hilarious antics that they had just witnessed.

The second visitor was a young boy, at about age 10, who came in with a balloon on a stick and waved it around for 15 minutes. After he'd done that the two interns almost exploded from rage as they realized that this was not some sort of crazy magic trick that took time, but it was just the kid flailing the balloon about. Allen excused the kid and spent the next 5 minutes calming down the interns.

The third person that walked through the door was a girl with braided pigtails and glasses who simply showed a few pieces of her art before quietly thanking all three viewers for taking the time to take a look at her work, and then exiting the room. Although she seemed to be blushing a lot of the time, but she had a sweet smile and seemed like someone comfortable to work with.

The fourth person did the same, except he played a song on his guitar. He had all black hair except for a bit that was white and hung in front of his face. He looked like a very nervous guy, but he played the guitar exceptionally well and with extreme confidence. Finally it was time for the 5th person to come, and it took all of Allen's might not to sweat madly and sit still in his chair. He had warned the two interns that they should behave for the next few people to come because their behaviour was outrageous, and if they continue on like this, they would definitely not be allowed a job at the magazine. After that short talk both of them shut up and remained silent.

The door hinges creaked, and Allen's attention was turned to the door and the person stepping through the entrance.

Kanda.

Yuu Kanda.

But you shant call him Yuu because he hates it when people do so.

So just Kanda.

Allen seemed completely unaware of the sudden shock that crossed Kanda's face as he saw the three faces of the people who were going to interview him for the job. A freak, the fag, and a blonde freak. Was the world really that cruel? The Japanese man mentally cursed to himself as he subconsciously flung the door shut and walked forward towards the centre of the room. He had his piece of art in his hand. His first artwork that he had ever done in his entire life. He was eight when he had made it, and was shockingly enough, still proud of it. But he had never used it.

"Uhh…" The Japanese teen looked up as he saw the white-haired fag trying to figure out what to say. He let out a low sigh and began talking.

"How about I do the talking, that way you get to know why I'm here, and it'll spare you the awkwardness of making a total ass out of yourself." Allen frowned, but he could feel his heart rate increase ever so slightly. One of the interns, the dark-haired one, leaned towards Allen and whispered.

"_I like him_."

Inwardly Allen had to calm himself down by repeatedly reminding himself that the intern, whose name was Devitto apparently, meant that he liked him as a person, or someone to associate himself with. A friend or perhaps a colleague, that's what he meant.

What Allen found strangely peculiar though was that Kanda was holding… an umbrella. …And that was it.

The Japanese teen held up his umbrella and slowly began unbuttoning it. At the same time he began explaining about his work.

"Name's Kanda, age is none of you godddamn business." Allen twitched. "Basically, I would say that people think I am an artist. Which I am. But I like to see myself as a person of many talents. A few of them are drawing, painting, sewing— I swear to fucking God if you laugh blonde-pain-in-the-ass, I will rip your heart out—" the blonde intern, Jasdero, didn't move a muscle. "Origami, writing, and much more." He shook the umbrella rather violently as the unsheathe the band that was holding it together, and gently moved his hand to the stick and slid it up towards the middle of the umbrella so he could open it up.

"I've been doing art since I was ten, but my first piece of art that I actually made was when I was eight. I was bored out of my mind, and my guardian had left a sewing kit on the kitchen table which he'd forgotten to put away. I had recently gotten a new umbrella which was purple, and I didn't really like purple because I saw it as a girly colour. However, I had nothing better to do, so I grabbed the sewing kit and took my umbrella and began stitching a sentence onto the thin material of the umbrella."

Kanda opened up the umbrella, and it majestically swung open and displayed itself in all its purple glory. He spun the umbrella around for a few seconds before lowering it down and showing the viewers the top of the umbrella.

Allen's eyes widened slightly, and his heart melted at the sight. The words read "Be My Umbrella."

"I was sort of inexperienced and kept on poking myself with the needle. But in the end I finished it, and I was goddamn proud of my work. I've never been more proud of myself than I was at that moment that I finished the sewing. That was my first piece of work."

Devitto still had his eyes on the text, and he was grinning slightly as Kanda continue to twirl the umbrella. Keeping Devitto and Jasdero distracted was apparently not a hard task. Allen leaned back a little in his chair and swallowed a bit of air, his eyes looking down at the paper at the interview questions that he was supposed to ask Kanda.

He didn't know why, but for some reason Kanda's speech and explanation had been incredibly touching… and Allen didn't understand why. He understood that the umbrella was a sweet thing, and the words stitched across it were adorable. But he didn't understand why such a simple thing had him thinking and feeling guilty all of a sudden. And why couldn't he stop picturing the rain falling, and him being drenched?

"That… was good, thank you." Kanda began closing the umbrella, and both Devitto and Jasdero snapped out of their awkward daze. "You presentation was indeed enjoyable, and it was well how you explained about why you chose just that piece. So in the presentation area, you are clear, but it's also a routine for me to ask you these simple interview questions." Allen placed his finger on the first question and inhaled. There were only 4 questions, and they were very simply. Surely Kanda would get through these, and that meant that they would get to work together! If it got any better than this Allen would've fainted on his desk and twitched from happiness!

Kanda nodded, but still with a glare that seemed to be oozing annoyance and death. Allen managed a small smile before speaking.

"Alright. Let's begin."

--

The interviews had gone horrible.

Allen lay on the desk with his head on the desk and inwardly cringed as he remembered how the interview with Kanda had gone.

Absolute shit.

--

_Question 1:_

_Why do you think you should be accepted for this job?_

_Answer: __**Because everyone else is either lazy, a bastard, annoying, mental or just plain stupid. In fact, all people are that. I met this guy the other day who said it wasn't his job to pour coffee for me… Fucking ridiculous, it was in fucking Starbucks!**_

_Question 2:_

_Do you have any allergies or medical problems we should know about?_

_Answer: __**I have a problem that most people are idiots.**_

_Question 3:_

_How are you in a group project?_

_Answer: __**Don't blame me if they end up dying someday. Those shitheads were either too annoying or too loud. …If they fall down the stairs when I "accidentally" nudge them, would I get sued?**_

_Question 4:_

_Any other comments?_

_Answer: __**Fags seem to always be attracted to me, so I'd like a bell around their necks in case they approach me.**_

--

Allen kept on groaning to himself about the utter failure that he was and how the interviews with Kanda had now officially separated them and made Allen incapable of hiring him. And the comment to the last question… WOAH. That just pretty much tore Allen's heart apart. Kanda seemed to be so opposed to gays that he saw them as animals. And they way he had spoken about them seemed so cruel and harsh, Allen felt so small and wanted to sink into his chair and have the earth swallow him.

Wasn't that just the lowest?

Devitto began knocking on Allen's head, and he kept on going for 5 straight minutes until Allen finally sat up and attempted a weak glare.

"Whatcha so sad about? I thought it was pretty easy choosing someone for the thing."

They had ended up deciding on Lou Fa, the quiet girl with the braided pigtails and glasses. She seemed sensible enough, and she seemed to a joy to talk to, and this was a shared opinion between all three interviewers.

"Just though… that maybe… it would've been better if we chose someone else… if maybe their behaviour hadn't been so awful." Allen groaned once again as he remembered the interviews. That was just never going to disappear, was it?

"Whut? You mean like that lady who kept on trying to kill herself? I thought that was pretty fucking hilarious, dude!" He laughed loudly and Allen had to place his hands over his ears to prevent his ears from bleeding.

"Uhh… sure…" He averted his gaze from the intern and let out another sigh. How depressing was he being now? It just seemed so uncharacteristic for him.

"Well maybe if she'd slept with someone she might've gotten the job, but none of us would really take her. That I know for sure… unless you have some weird fetish for suicidal chicks, dude."

Allen quirked an eyebrow. What was this kid going on about? "...I beg you pardon, but what on Earth do you mean?" Allen placed his elbows on the table and ran his hands through his snow-white hair.

Devitto waggled his eyebrows as a smirk spread across his face. "Y'know… slept with. Like gone into bed with someone."

…Hold up.

…

What?

"As in sexually, man!" Devitto slapped Allen on the back and missed the yelp that Allen let out as pain surged through his body. "Y'know, I heard that the editor-in-chief of this place, Rinali or something, actually slept with someone to get a job here." His voice had gone down to a whisper and Allen found himself leaning towards the intern as his interest perked. Lenalee had… sexually? Allen stopped breathing for a second as he awaited the continuation of Devitto's comment, but it never came. After he knew that he wasn't going to say anything, Allen dared to ask.

"P…People actually… sleep, with other people, to just… get jobs?" He couldn't believe this. Would anyone really sink so low as to make love to someone they didn't even like, just so they could get a _job? _That was utterly pathetic!

…But then… on the other hand… Allen knew how it was like to be unemployed. People would go through amazing lengths just to land a paying job so they could support themselves. He remembered very well that he had to go around doing several various jobs to pay off his Master's bills, and each and every one of them involved him doing something odd. That was until he found poker, and practiced all night and all day until his skills were perfect. His incomings in poker were much better and he thought that he'd soon pay off every debt that his Master had… but then his Master started spending more.

Ungrateful bastard.

The sound of Devitto shuffling and moving up on the desk brought Allen back to reality. Devitto placed his feet on his chair and scratched his thigh where he'd gotten a small itch.

"If they're desperate enough."

--

Kanda was standing by the elevator, waiting for it to come to his floor, open up, and have him enter it so it could slide all the way down and let him out into the free world. The entire time he was standing there he was contemplating over whether he should have given fake answers to the interview questions, or just be his plain self which most people seemed genuinely afraid of. To be honest, he loved that power, but others didn't seem quite fond of it. The good thing though was that people kept their space… except for one certain rabbit. Now that he though about it, Lavi hadn't called him at all over the past few days. It was a good thing for Kanda obviously, but strangely unsettling. After a moment he was pretty sure that was one of the first signs of the Apocalypse.

"Kanda!" The Japanese turned around and saw a head of white running towards him. It was the interview fag kid, who had actually done a fairly good job at the interview section. However, he could tell by the kid's looks on the interview section that he was genuinely surprised and perhaps frightened.

"What the fuck do you want?" Kanda turned towards the elevator again. The sound of the elevator coming to a halt hadn't sounded yet. Allen came to a stop behind Kanda and he ran one hand through his hair as the other found its way behind his back and acted as support.

"Well, I was just going to say about the job—"Kanda replied faster than the white-haired boy could finish his sentence.

"I got the job?" Allen shook his head furiously as his mind tried to keep up with what he was saying.

"No. Well, maybe." He facepalmed himself as he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. Everything was coming out in a jumble. "It's actually, more of a—"

The elevator sounded and the doors slid open. Kanda turned briefly back to Allen and narrowed his eyes. He was getting sick of this kid and all his blubbering. Why couldn't he speak fucking coherently? "Spit it out kid, I don't have a lot of time on my hands."

Allen looked up and he flushed slightly as he brought his eyes down to the interior of the elevator, unable to make eye contact with the Japanese man or he'd blush again. "Right, right. Uh, well I was basically going to ask you a question, but uhh, I don't really know how to ask this…"

Allen scratched his head. "Well if it's hard to ask then don't ask it." Kanda began walking into the elevator "I'll be on my way then."

Allen brought his hands up and began panicking. "No, no! Wait! Okay! Alright!" He shut his eyes and clenched his fists as he tried to find the right words. "Uhm, Kanda, would you… would you…"

The Japanese man let out a frustrated huff and narrowed his eyes again. A venomous glare was directed towards the young boy and his next word was dripping with poison and utter and complete hate mixed with annoyance.

"What?" Allen's hear skipped a major heartbeat just then. He was unsure of whether he should ask or not, but a voice inside his head was pressuring him to just spill it and confess. His mind was rushing and his palms were sweating, and his eye were struggling to stay open, and it took all of his might and courage to look at the Japanese man within the elevator doors in the eye.

Finally.

"...Would you ever sleep with someone for a job?"

Kanda stepped out of the elevator.

--

– **Lovefool Allen x3**

– **Well I do it. I always raise my eyebrows and go *gasp* with a smile, followed by a low "really?"**

**I… I… I'm finally done. –collapses- I was so scared of writing this chapter, because I wasn't sure of how to really write it… and ugh… then if you add on the fact that I made a promise to you readers and then broke it, and it took me like 3 months to update… shit.**

**I… I'm just happy I'm done with it now… you should expect the next chapter between tomorrow and next year. No bullshit.**

**Important Question: I'm looking for a fanfic of Kanda and Allen, where Allen is a vampire, and Kanda is a vampire slayer. I know how the beginning is, but I can't remember the name of it! The beginning is Allen sitting on a roof, then Tyki comes and says they must go… then it cuts to a scene of Kanda just finishing off a vampire and cleaning his sword sorta and Lavi appears with his hammer… and then I can't remember anymore. O____o**

**Please tell me?**

**&&You don't have to review this chapter because it took **_**ages! …**_**But I would appreciate it if you did anyway.**

**Also… next chapter… Lemon? No lemon? Lemon? No Lemon? Lime? What do you think?**


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